Lost Together
by DaisukiFox
Summary: AU. Shortly after getting cursed Ranma gets in trouble during his visit to the Amazon Village resulting in him losing his memory. Can Ranma, with the help of Ryoga, recover his memories, even if he now thinks he's a girl? RanmaXRyoga Co-written by: DaisukiFox & Dr. Facer (Lost Together chapter 9 Coming Soon)
1. Chapter 1

DaisukiFox: Some of you are probably wondering why this story is here and not in the joint account? There's a simple answer to that question. I lost the email and I'm not sure if Siddy saved it either. I wanted to continue this project on my own but was really open to getting back to this story with.

I will admit that when this started I didn't think it did well for a while... but it grew over time. I guess people some readers needed time to warm up to it. I figured I also wasn't ready for something of this scale... given how I hadn't even read the manga at that time. Sorry for being lazy guys! ^^'

I also really like the way Dr. Facer edits the chapters. It keeps a structured form but manages to keep my brand of humor, intact. That's a talent. Sorry for how long this was! 030

Dr. Facer: Hello everyone, Dr. Facer here, welcoming you to the newly resurrected version of this collaboration! Yes, we're coming back to it years later and we have some very nice plans and ideas for it that we hope that you'll enjoy. I'm very glad to work on this with DaisukiFox, I really like his style and his ability with emotional scenes and romance, I feel they will make this story more enjoyable for everyone.

Thanks for reading and for waiting so long for us to return to it!

Disclaimer: Dr. Fox(both of us) do not own Ranma in any way shape or form. Ranma ½ belongs to Rumiko Takahashi and Viz media.

 _Lost Together_

By:

Dr. Fox

Chapter 1

* * *

Ranma was not having a good day, having walked for hours without stopping to rest or eat was bad already, doing so in her girl form while carrying a backpack full of camping gear -with no food in it, we must add- only made it worse. The only positive she could think about was the fact they were finally leaving Jusenkyo, and that the guide had offered to buy the boat tickets back to Japan as compensation for not being able to find the cursed spring that would cure them.

The one thing Ranma couldn't really understand was Genma's urgency to return to Japan; all the old man had revealed was that a friend of his was ready to give him something and that it was very valuable, a property of some sorts, it seemed. The young Saotome had figured they could sell it and use some of the money to return later for a cure and besides, it wasn't as if the curse was, deadly or anything, and Ranma knew he -or rather she at the moment- could deal with it for a couple of extra months.

She still was pretty hungry, though.

"Look around, Mr. Costumers, this is a Village of Amazons!" the guide suddenly announced, slightly distracting the girl and panda following him from their food-obsessed thoughts.

"What's that mean?" Ranma asked unenthusiastically, as she would have loved to find a cheap restaurant with an all you can eat buffet available instead of a village of 'Amazon-whatever' like this one.

"It means women here are very strong," the guide clarified. Sounds of battle were heard then, and the middle-aged Chinese could not resist the opportunity to point out the obvious. "In fact, I think there's a martial arts competition now."

Being martial artists themselves, Ranma and Genma couldn't let the chance pass to check the skills of the girls of the village, Ranma hoping to see some interesting techniques and Genma just to see if he could get something valuable out of it. They were so absorbed by the spectacle provided by the purple haired girl and her Herculean opponent currently fighting that the pair of Saotome's absentmindedly started eating the food from the large table at the side of the arena, assuming it was ok to do it without asking, not that anyone was paying attention to them so they could ask for permission.

"Winning the competition is a big honor here," the guide explained between puffs of his pipe.

"That girl with the maces sure packs a lot of power," Ranma observed while munching on a pair of meat buns; behind her, Genma was busy stuffing his mouth with watermelon.

Alarmed by the munching sounds, the guide slowly turned to his right and saw something that made his heart skip a beat: his two customers were eating the food on the table and had already made a considerable dent on the dishes served on it.

"What… are… you… doing?" the Chinese man asked, drops of cold sweat born of fear starting to trail down his face.

Confused, Ranma stopped eating for a moment and noticed that indeed, not only was the guide looking weird at her and the panda, many of the other villagers were doing that as well. It was only then that Ranma noticed the 'First Prize' sign in front of the table, something she had missed before by focusing instead on the fight and the food.

Before the guide could elaborate or offer an explanation, a mace descended and crushed the table, hitting the spot Ranma had been seated on only a fraction of a second before. Ranma had managed to dodge the attack easily and now kneeled on the weapon, amusedly staring at the purple haired girl who spouted angry Chinese at her.

"She asks why are you stealing her prize?" the guide, who had jumped a few steps away, quickly translated, hoping that doing that would help stop an all-out fight with the Amazons, which was the one thing he really wanted to avoid.

"She also says that this is the day of their yearly martial arts tournament and that she is now the champion!" the Chinese man supplied, paying close attention to what the very angry teenage Amazon said.

"Champion, huh?" Ranma felt her confidence return as an idea formed in her head. She had seen what the mace-wielding girl could do, and the young Saotome was quite sure she could defeat her. "Then if we fight and I win, she'll be alright with me eating the food, right?"

The Amazon nodded at the translated challenge the Jusenkyo guide provided and cracked her knuckles while frowning at the stupid foreign redhead who dared to challenge her. Picking up her weapons again, the purple-haired warrior jumped back into the ring, which was nothing but a large log suspended by four thick ropes. Ranma quickly followed, and immediately adopted her preferred fighting stance.

The fight started and… ended in less than two seconds. Ranma, who had already watched her opponent fight, was confident on her superior speed, which she used to slide inside the Amazon's defenses and knock her down from the log with one swift kick to the chin.

As she was crowned the new champion, Ranma could not help but wonder why every woman in the audience seemed to be extremely afraid, and what the sinister look on her fallen adversary meant.

The only answer the defeated Amazon gave the redhead was a determined glare loaded with fury, which she followed with a soft kiss on her cheek. After this, the purple-haired warrior offered her enemy a wily smile, her mind already planning the many ways she could use to torture her before she finally killed her to avenge the humiliation she had subjected her to.

Before Ranma could ask about the meaning of this strange kiss, the guide screamed like a frightened girl and grabbed her, forcing her to run like if demons were after them to the village's exit. "We must run! You got the kiss of death!"

"Kiss of whaaa…?" Ranma tried asking, her question cut short when the guide suddenly stopped and she all but crashed on his back. Judging by the way the Chinese man was trembling; the redhead guessed that something very dangerous was in front of them.

Curiosity getting the best of her, Ranma peeked from behind the guide, only to find… a large black bag full of herbs? Looking down from the sack, however, revealed a diminutive and ancient looking woman with long white hair who reminded Ranma of a mummified monkey she had seen somewhere a few years ago. The powerful energy emanating from the tiny old woman, though, helped the young Saotome realize that she would be very stupid if she didn't take things seriously.

"It appears that cutting short my visit to Yakusai was a good idea," the old Amazon asked in perfect Japanese, which she had heard the redhead speak. "Care to tell me why you're running away from my great-granddaughter?"

"My-customer-defeated-her-and-she-gave-her-the-kiss-of-death-and-now-wants-to-kill-him!" the guide blurted out, clearly, prey to his own absolute panic.

"That's a girl behind you," the old woman observed, not missing the 'him' the guide had used. "Is she actually a man who fell at Jusenkyo?"

"Y-yes she is?" the panicked man confirmed. "Why?"

"Because it seems then that I just found a new suitor for my great-granddaughter," the old Amazon provided. "And I'm fairly sure he is a much better fighter than that blind fool."

"Suitor, what're you talking 'bout?" Ranma asked as she frowned. If she understood correctly, this ancient mummy wanted her to marry that crazy girl with the purple hair? Well, that was not happening. "I'm not interested in marrying that creepy girl!"

Deciding it was time to leave, Ranma ignored the pleas to stop the guide was shouting at her and tried to run past the old lady. That, however, did not go well, and Ranma ended up on her back, her body hurting all over. Struggling, she managed to sit up and found that no matter how much she tried, she simply couldn't stand up. It was then that, with a pang of fear, Ranma realized the old lady had hit her several times, how many she didn't know, because she simply hadn't seen it and that was not everything, the redhead was sure that the lack of response from her legs was also the fault of the old crone sneering a few steps away.

Just then, a massive panda fell unconscious at Ranma's side. Genma was a tough fighter, Ranma knew this quite well and judging by the marks on the fur, her father had taken a lot of punishment before he was finally taken down. The young Saotome gritted her teeth, she was counting on her father's help to escape this village full of crazy women and now that option was out of the picture!

"We managed to defeat the girl's pet panda, elder Cologne," a woman announced, kneeling at the older Amazon's side. "It was very well trained, I must admit."

"Chances are it is a human, so it isn't surprising," the woman called Cologne nodded, her eyes never leaving the young redhead, who by now, looked as if she was about to both explode in anger or trying to crawl out of Joketsuzoku as fast as she could. "Shampoo, come here!"

Hearing her name, the purple haired girl stepped forward and stood close to the old lady. "What Great-grandma want? Me need kill outsider now!" the girl called Shampoo stated using broken, but passable, Japanese.

"Oh, that won't be necessary," Cologne replied. "That girl is actually a man, and since he defeated you, well, you know what that means."

"Shampoo no marry stupid outsider!" the teenager Amazon contested. "He humiliates Shampoo as woman so Shampoo punishe like if he woman!"

"You have to obey custom, don't forget it," Cologne reminded his great-granddaughter, her tone of voice leaving no room for argument.

"Hmp! We see about that later!" Shampoo replied and stomped away, clearly quite unhappy about this new development and already secretly planning on a way to derail her great-grandmother's plans so she could have her revenge.

"Heh, you will have to excuse my girl here," the elder said as she looked at Ranma. "She is as stubborn as she is pretty, you see. Anyway, I'll convince her to follow tradition, so don't you worry, you two will be married very soon. Which will be good, you know? It's been a while since strong blood has been added to our village, and I'm sure your male form has a lot of potentials."

"I don't wanna marry her!" Ranma shouted then, the redhead had chosen to keep quiet as she hoped the argument would end up in her having a chance to fight that Shampoo girl again so they could fix this with a rematch, something that unfortunately didn't happen, leaving her trapped and with no visible opportunity to escape; because Ranma, as headstrong as he –currently she- was, wasn't stupid, and she knew quite well that until her legs worked again or her father decided to wake up, she was completely trapped.

"It's not as if you have another option, tradition must be followed," Cologne said and then she looked at the other Amazons around her. "Take them to our guest house. We'll have a wedding tomorrow."

* * *

 _Later, on the outskirts of Joketsuzoku…_

Shampoo waited outside the village's school, a rather large house she had actually fond memories of, for the classes to end, for the day. She knew that once they did the man she wanted to see and his parents, who ran the school, coincidentally, would not take long to leave as well.

A few minutes later a bell was rung and a wave of children ran out of the school; not too long after, he walked out and she approached him immediately.

"Mousse, we need to talk," she called; glad that she could speak to him using Chinese and not be forcing herself to speak Japanese like she had to in front of that brainless outsider.

The young man reacted with great enthusiasm once he realized who was calling him and promptly tried to greet Shampoo with a hug, which in return earned him a punch to the face.

"I said we need to talk, keep your arms to yourself!"

"You can't blame me for trying," Mousse argued while putting his glasses on. "What do you need?"

"A stupid foreigner challenged me during the competition and he…" Shampoo started, her hands trembling with suppressed rage. "…He won!"

"A man defeated you?" Mousse felt livid at this information. It wasn't that he had not contemplated the possibility; he simply never thought it would actually happen! The only consolation so far was that judging by her voice Shampoo was not happy at all about this, which meant that she probably didn't want to marry that person. "Are you going to marry him?"

"I would rather die!" the teenager Amazon swore with a steely conviction. "He is a man of no honor; let me tell you what happened…"

And so, Shampoo told Mousse about what had happened during the village's Martial Arts tournament and by the time she had finished, she had also told Mousse what she wanted him to do in order to help her extract her revenge on the man-woman who had shamed her in front of the other Amazons.

"…That is what I want you to do, Mousse," Shampoo finished. "Can you do it?"

"It shouldn't be a problem and yes, I _could_ do it," he assured her. "But why should I do it? I'm sure Cologne wouldn't like it if she sees me doing that."

"I'd go on a date with you if you do me this one favor, Mousse," Shampoo promised, carefully choosing her words while placing her hand on his shoulder and leaning on his side a little, just to let him feel her breasts brushing against his arm for a fraction of a second. "And I would even let you fight with me again if you want; who knows? You might even win this time."

After an offer like that, coupled with the feeling of Shampoo's body so close to his, Mousse, being your typical hot-blooded teenager, found no way to refuse.

* * *

 _Later still, at night…_

Ranma was not happy. He had been turned back into a man and thrown into a room and had caught glimpse of the Amazons doing the same to his father. The old mummy had pressed some point on his back, which had fixed his legs and he could now walk. He, unfortunately, could not escape. And he had tried to do just that a few times already but the only time he managed to sneak out of the room by the window a group of Amazons had immediately captured him. The house they had put him in was so heavily guarded it would take someone with a set of skills he didn't have to break out of there.

Ranma heard a noise by the door and quickly separated from the window, not wanting to hint whoever it was about his intentions to try to force it open to escape later. He found two middle-aged women there, flanking the old Amazon he was now so familiar with: Cologne.

"I take it you still refuse to willingly marry my girl?" the elder Amazon asked. "Despite all the advantages doing so would grant you?"

"Of course I refuse!" Ranma shot back, he had been tempted by the old crone's offer to teach him some of her martial arts techniques, but there was one thing Ranma absolutely hated, and that was people forcing him to do something he didn't want to. "No matter what you do I won't marry that psycho granddaughter of yours!"

"That is truly unfortunate," Cologne lamented. "I had honestly hoped you wouldn't force my hand this way, young man."

Before Ranma could answer, the elder had dashed in front of him and pressed the tip of her cane on his chest, all the while grinning in a way that sent chills down the younger Saotome's spine.

"I just hit your cat's tongue pressure point, child, and I made sure to make it so it is much more effective than normal," Cologne explained with a smirk. "It will make you suffer a pain unlike anything you can imagine, and only I have the cure… which I'll give you if you accept to marry my Shampoo, of course."

Ranma scoffed, he didn't feel any different, so it was obvious the woman had failed or was simply trying to scare him. "Don't make empty threats old ghoul, this is just a stupid trick."

The only answer Cologne gave was reaching for a glass full of cold water one of her companions held which she then used to splash the young man in front of her, turning him into a very angry girl.

"Why'd you do that for?" Ranma yelled. "It's bad enough to be your captive; you didn't have to turn me into a woman!"

"Well, a woman is what you will be for the rest of your life unless you marry my little Shampoo," Cologne sentenced. "And you know quite well what she will do to you if you aren't male."

"Hah! Don't play games, I just need some hot water and I'll be back to normal!"

"Really? Be my guest and try to change back, boy," the elder invited, placing the kettle full of hot water the other Amazon in the room carried on a small table. "Go on, change back into a man."

"With pleasure!" Ranma agreed, reaching for the water and pouring it all over her head.

A piercing shriek of agony was heard then, followed by a string of short screams. Ranma was now on the floor writhing in unbearable pain. His whole body was hurting, and he couldn't remember ever hurting so much before. Much to his surprise was the fact that the hot water, even while it had made contact with his skin, had not turned him into a man.

"Now you see the horror of the cat's tongue pressure point?" Cologne attested. "It makes your body so sensitive to hot water that you won't be able to even touch lukewarm water without experiencing that much pain and your body will flinch away from it so fast it won't allow the Jusnekyo curse to trigger. So now you see, foolish boy? Unless you marry my great-granddaughter tomorrow, you will remain a girl and she will have to kill you."

"I still won't… marry that girl…" Ranma muttered, managing to crawl to a corner of the room so she could lean on the wall and sit. "I'd rather fight her again a hundred times over…"

Cologne smiled at this. "The night is long, young man, and I can still make you change your mind. Don't worry; I'll visit again, and I'll make sure to bring enough hot water with me."

Saying no more, Cologne left the room, followed by the two Amazons; as she walked through the hallways, though, the old woman sighed in disappointment. She wasn't particularly fond of senseless torture, and honestly wished that the boy would change his mind soon, for playing the part of a cold tormenter was not something the ancient warrior particularly enjoyed.

* * *

 _A few hours later…_

Ranma was starting to fear that she would have to obey that old mummy. Cologne had not visited again yet, but her promise to return with more hot water still ran on her ears, and it made her shudder just by remembering the horrible pain she had felt and would most likely feel again once that old witch returned. The redhead hated to feel so defenseless and wished she could punch the Jusenkyo guide on the face for taking the route that passed through this village.

A click-clack caught her attention then, and she looked to her right to find a man about her age, wearing a robe with oversized sleeves, crouched on her windowsill. He adjusted his glasses and stared at her for a moment before he entered the room.

"So you're that 'Ranma' girl who defeated Shampoo…" he said flatly. "I'm Mousse; I'm here to help you escape."

"I'm a boy!" Ranma stressed, but then realized this guy wanted to assist her. "Wait, why would you help me?"

"Because I can't let any other man take Shampoo away from me."

"Are you her boyfriend or something?"

The young Chinese smiled. "Something like that. She will be my wife, I can assure you that. Anyway, I took care of the Amazons watching the house, stick to the left and you'll find a series of alleys you can use to escape the town."

"How'd you beat them? They're pretty tough!" Ranma asked, having a hard time believing this guy was stronger than she was.

"Knock-out darts," Mousse said while handing the redhead a rope. "Now hurry and leave before the guard shifts!"

"What about my dad?" Ranma remembered, not that she couldn't escape without him, but Genma was still her father and she couldn't just leave him here. "Will we help him?"

"That man next door? They won't kill him," Mousse told her. "They'll question him and then they'll probably use him to bait you back here, but they won't murder him unless he's too stupid and pisses them off. Now hurry, there isn't much time!"

"But… that's not all," Ranma frowned. "That old witch did something to me and now I can't touch hot water! I have to get the cure from her!"

Mousse was starting to lose his patience, would this girl never leave? She was putting them both in danger by not taking the chance to escape. "Look, whatever the elder did I'm sure you can find a cure in Yakusai, the herbalists there have cures for everything!"

"Are you sure?"

"Of course I am sure! Now leave already, this is as dangerous for me as it is for you!" the near-sighted teenager urged. "And if you're still worried about your father you can always sneak back into the village later!"

The expression of urgency in Mousse's face finally convinced Ranma that he was really risking a lot by doing this, and she decided that she couldn't let his gesture go to waste. Nodding, the redhead grabbed the rope and after securing it on the bed, she slid down to the street and ran for the alleys to the left.

Mousse jumped down and sank into the shadows; quite satisfied that he had managed to get his job done without any further trouble, the young Chinese rushed back to his house. He had already done his part, now it was up to Shampoo to finish the plan and intercept and finish that poor Ranma guy. Not that Mousse felt any sorry for him, of course.

* * *

 _Not too long after…_

Ranma stopped for a moment to catch her breath; she had been running like crazy and had finally managed to put a good distance between herself and the town of those crazy Amazons. Thanks to the dim light provided by the full moon, she noticed that stood at the edge of a not so deep precipice, and a road leading down was just ahead of her. With some luck, she would find a nice place to hide for a couple of days while she prepared a plan to rescue her father. With even better luck, she would be able to find someone willing to help her; perhaps she could even contact that Mousse guy again.

"Good, stupid outsider finally show up," a voice Ranma didn't expect to hear so soon announced. "Shampoo tired of waiting. Is you ready to die, _girl_?"

Ranma gritted her teeth as she regarded the Amazon behind her. The Amazon's persistence was really infuriating, and the young Saotome had decided that she was not going to put up with her insanity anymore. "You know, I've had it with you and your crazy laws! Leave me the hell alone!"

"Not until Shampoo kills and ends kiss of death," the purple-haired warrior answered, swinging the sword she carried in a dangerous way. "And only way to end kiss of death is when you dead!"

Saying no more, Shampoo rushed at the redhead, attacking with such ferocity that Ranma found herself on the defensive, and dodging the sharp edge of her opponent's sword as best as she could, quickly became her main priority. Still, the redhead was not truly worried; all she needed was to bid her time so she could find an opening that would allow her to knock Shampoo out with one swift punch or kick.

There was, however, something Ranma had not taken into account. Shampoo was familiar with the terrain, and she wasn't. The purple-haired warrior had decided to fight smart this time and had used the advantage her weapon gave her to the fullest, she had managed to push the obnoxious foreigner back several steps and when she was sure that the redhead was at the edge of the cliff, Shampoo instantly redoubled her efforts.

Her tactic worked. Ranma, who as we stated was not familiar with the area, had miscalculated and slid back to dodge a very fast horizontal slash of Shampoo's sword, and realized too late that she had just lost her footing. Her arms flailing desperately, the young Saotome tried to regain her balance but it was too late.

She fell down the precipice and only by some miracle fell on the river below, instead of hitting the sharp rocks just a few meters closer to the wall of the cliff. Above, a satisfied Shampoo smiled. She had heard the splash and suspected that Ranma had survived, but she was also sure that after such a fall, the redhead would not be in the best of conditions, so she would let her suffer the pain of her wounds for the night; but tomorrow, Shampoo would hunt Ranma again, and she would kill the stupid outsider then. Her wounded Amazon honor demanded it.

* * *

 _Early next day…_

Gentle waves from the stream pushed against the unconscious form of Ranma. Her arms were sprawled out to her sides, her head tilted to the side while she slumbered in her unconscious world. Though her complexion was that of a sleeping beauty, the inside of her mind was utter chaos; memories jumping around and vanishing from place to place trying to organize themselves.

Ranma gasped for air as she sat up from the river, panting as she seemed rather shocked for some reason. "Gah!" she cried, feeling fragmented thoughts spread throughout her head. "My head!" Ranma whined, placing her hands on each side of her head. It was then that she noticed the shrill sound emitting from her throat.

"Wait... have I always sounded like this?" she said to herself, removing her hands from her head and looking up; pondering the question she asked herself. "Or is this normal?" she questioned, unsure of her tone.

With her eyes, she surveyed the area and concluded that she had no idea where she was. "Huh..." she said, looking into the river's reflective surface; with an almost cat-like curiosity she reached out her hand and touched her reflection, watching as the contact with it sent ripples throughout its body.

"I-I'm a girl..." Ranma stated, looking down at her chest region and taking both of her hands to weigh her assets. Testing this out only resulted in a moan from the red-headed girl, making her retract her hands and blush ever so lightly. "Gotta' avoid touching these."

Ranma stood from her seated position and twisted her hips, inspecting the rest of her body, "Huh... I'm a real looker," she commented. It was then that she paused to try and remember her name, not to mention her entire background.

She narrowed her eyes, forcing the thoughts through her head. All that came out were bits and pieces of her shattered identity, not many things were concrete. Certain aspects of her remained, though, like her more basic instincts and manners... but then there was also the fact that she knew she was good at martial arts; she just couldn't remember where she'd learned or who had trained her. Wanting to test this skill, Ranma took a deep breath before sighing and clapping her hands together, taking an offensive stance.

The first thing that came to her was the ability to throw fists. "Hiya!" she shouted, releasing a torrent of fists each just as quickly as the other. "Whoa!" Ranma shouted, excited with her abilities.

It was then that her actions triggered something in her mind, vague images of something called the Joketsuzoku Amazons; visions of them sprouted from her mind and instilled her with panic and fear. The people that flushed through her memory wanted her dead, for what reason? She couldn't tell.

It dawned on her that these Joketsuzoku people might still be on the prowl and she quickly shifted her head from side to side, a frightened look on her face. Nodding her head she began walking aimlessly; anywhere was better than here.

Her entire duration of walking Ranma tried to recall past events but all failed at every turn. All she could make out was that someone had told her to visit Yakusai the herbalists' village. Suddenly it hit Ranma like a sack of hammers, why did she even want to go to Yakusai This was far too confusing for her, what with her lack of any memories, _'That's it! This Yakusai place probably has somethin' for me to get my memories back!'_ Ranma thought. She just needed to go to this Yakusai place and get them to use their herbal expertise on her, her memories would most likely return!

"Yeah!" Ranma shouted, pumping her fist in the air, her bright blue eyes staring at the sky above her. Now all she had to do was find the location and she'd be home free, which caused her to stop for a moment. "Damn it! I ain't got a clue where it is!" Ranma shouted before slapping her forehead with her palm. _'These memory problems are killing me... why can't I just remember who I am?'_ she thought with a groan and slouching forward.

* * *

 _Not too far away..._

Shampoo returned to the site where she last fought her foreign opponent. This was not going to be easy, she knew that the moment she went down the cliff and scouted the area for any signs of the redhead from yesterday. "Where is stupid cursed boy?" she asked herself.

She didn't need to think for long, because the sounds of someone's voice traveled in her ears, alerting her to Ranma's location. Though she only had a vague idea of where the redhead could be; she just needed a little more and she could pinpoint her. Though was this foreigner really that stupid? The possibilities just didn't seem to be in her favor.

"Damn! I ain't got a clue where it is!"

Shampoo widened her eyes, shocked that maybe this cursed boy was just as stupid as she made him out to be. This was unimportant since she was now given a more specific location from the redhead's voice. She knew that she could track him and with her most likely weakened condition; Shampoo would simply need one good slash of her dadao and her target would cease to be a problem.

"I'm coming for you..." Shampoo whispered in her native tongue.

* * *

 _Seconds later..._

With her palm on her chin and her arm on her hips, Ranma tried to consider her possible directions she could take. Everything she knew about the area was limited to quite literally nothing. The most she knew was to avoid the direction she came from, but that still left a few other possibilities for her to take, none seemed any different from the other.

"Hm... maybe datta' way?" Ranma asked pointing in, said random direction. "Or maybe this one?"

Ranma was so absorbed in going to her next direction that she hadn't noticed Shampoo until the Amazon gave out a battle cry before trying to slice her from down the middle. "Hiya!"

Luckily Ranma was able to duck and roll out of harm's way; her martial arts and survival instincts saving her at the last moment. "What the hecks' wrong wit ya'!" Ranma shouted whilst in a kneeling position. "You could've killed me!"

"Is point, stupid!" Shampoo replied, jumping back and holding her sword with both hands firmly by the handle. She was absolutely sure she would feel Ranma's flesh on her blade; as such is the brutal nature of Shampoo's culture.

Ranma gasped and leaned back, this woman was clearly an insane psycho looking to kill anyone. "You're sick!" she shouted right before Shampoo took the redhead's retort as an opening, attempting another slash. Being as quick as she was, Ranma widened the gap in distance between them and took that as her means of escape.

Shampoo felt her heart race; it was the thrill of the hunt she was feeling. Although her logical side tried to reason with her, such as... why was Ranma running instead of dodging her and looking for an opening? Not to mention... why didn't her redheaded foe have any broken limbs? Had she been so lucky she hadn't hit the rocks when she fell from the cliff? It didn't matter now, Shampoo had become a predator and Ranma was her prey.

"Is too, too fun..." she whispered, taking on a sinister smile as she gave chase.

Something didn't feel right to Ranma, this running felt awkward to her. Though what could she do? She didn't know anything about this girl and what she could have up her sleeve. There was a good chance that she was only holding back and was trying to trick Ranma into a false sense of security. This was her best option and she would take it.

Ranma took a sharp intake of air when she heard the sounds of someone jumping from tree to tree, _'She's a ninja!'_ Ranma thought. Today just wasn't her day. "Nyaaaaa!" Ranma cried.

Now Shampoo was closing in on her enemy, she just needed to jump a few more trees and she'd be finished. Admittedly that was kind of bad because she liked to see her target struggle before she'd silence them but like many good chases; it must come to an end. Jumping down, Shampoo brought her sword over her head and aimed to finish her dimwitted prey.

The redhead took this as her opportunity and turned around, throwing herself back and scooping up some dirt in her hand, only to throw it in the eyes of her pursuer as soon as she landed.

Shampoo cringed and retracted her sword to try and wipe the stinging dirt from her eyes but sadly for her Ranma was back on the run and before Shampoo could even begin to wipe her eyes clean she felt herself lose balance from the back of her heel and fell to the ground; her sword flying out of her hands.

Ranma was glad that she had been able to formulate a plan to stall her homicidal friend just long enough for her to make her daring escape. She wasn't sure how much ground she could cover but whatever it took, it didn't matter to her. As long as she could get away and find out who she really was.

Back with the disorientated Amazon, she was still trying to fully wipe the dirt from her eyes. The only thing was when she fell, she hit the back of her head and her back was jabbed by a nearby root from a tree. She was still trying to compose herself and find her weapon.

Shampoo slowly rose to her feet and gritted her teeth, trying to see through her eyes while dealing with some mild head trauma and least she forgets... her sore back, "Shampoo kill!" she exclaimed, looking around for her sword. Not only was she in intense pain, she was also humiliated by Ranma's tactic. The foreigner had made her look foolish, not once but _twice_ now, she would have her revenge... in due time.

* * *

 _Several minutes later…_

The clever redhead had gained some great distance between her and that madwoman. What could have happened for someone like that to completely discard the fact that she was a living being? How could a girl who was so pretty possibly be a savage blood-thirsty, killing machine? Ranma figured it wasn't worth thinking about too much right now, she knew that however far she got; she had to go further than that.

She had gone as far as running until her lungs burned with exhaustion. Even though she hadn't taken into account how ridiculously far she had gone, if anyone were to actually take the time to analyze how inhuman it seemed for anyone to run for that amount of time and speed, they might see that they're way above average limits.

Ranma was at the point where she was crawling, her chest heaving as she continued; she then spotted what appeared to be a… tent? Slowly, she forced herself to continue and entered it, without regards to the owner of said tent. There were also a few things she failed to notice, such as the fact that the remains of a campfire were close by to her. In her tired state of mind, all she could do was close her eyes and rest. She would deal with the owner of the tent when the time came.

* * *

 _Nearby..._

Ryoga Hibiki was on a quest and perhaps it wasn't his main quest but it was a quest in need of doing: returning to his campsite. The entire morning was spent just trying to get back to his tent and his backpack full of food. It didn't matter to him whether or not he would be attacked in the forest, as long as he had the necessary energy to fend for himself.

At this rate, he was bound to get tired soon. "Where... is... it...!" Ryoga groaned, placing his hands on his stomach. "I know it was here somewhere..." the boy commented, gritting his teeth, his belly begging for food. Suddenly, from the corner of his eye, he spotted his tent and rushed over to it, smiling with tears of joy when approaching his camp.

When he reached it he dropped down to his knees and was preparing to pull his bag out from the tent and feast on whatever he could. "Finally!" Ryoga exclaimed; that was until he was greeted with the sight of a beautiful, almost angelic redheaded girl sleeping in his tent.

Ryoga took a second to stare at her and felt enchanted by the way her cute little mouth would breathe in air and how her hair was soaked in sweat and least but certainly not least, her impressive chest region which was only emphasized by her rhythmic breathing. It was overwhelming for him to see her, so much so that he gasped and fall back away from his tent.

"Ah!" he screamed, sitting up and covering his nose with his hand, forcing his blood not to leak.

"Huh?" Ranma groaned, having half-crawled out of the tent and looking at the lost boy in front of her. "Who're you?" she asked with her tired expression.

Another situation like the previous was happening; since the girl had crawled over to him he was able to see her chest from his position. His nose twitched and he quickly turned away, unable to hide the bleeding anymore. "D-damn it...!" Ryoga groaned. _'She's gonna' think I'm some stupid pervert!'_ he thought, depressed that his first impression with the only girl he's seen for miles, was this.

"Hey... you okay, pal?" Ranma asked, tilting her head to the side while panting ever so lightly.

Ryoga wanted to take up this opportunity to find some sort of excuse but was unable to think on the spot. "Y-yeah... I-I, um... er..." he said, looking to the side while the trickle of blood continued to go down his nose and onto the side of his cheek.

Ranma narrowed her eyes a bit and just remembered that the tent she was currently in didn't belong to her. "Oh! Geez... I'm sorry, I didn't mean ta' run into your tent or whatever, ya' see..." Ranma said, looking to the side and sighing once. "It's kinda' hard to say..."

Ryoga was surprised to see that she wasn't going to call him a pervert or anything; in fact it was almost as if she was naïve about the entire thing and wanted to show that she had some manners, even though she did invade his property, she was still willing to try and explain the situation rather than trying to make him feel awkward about his nose bleeding.

Ryoga blushed softly before looking to the side and pouting a bit, using his sleeve to quickly wipe the blood off of his nose and cheek, "It's alright; I guess it's none of my business."

Ranma sighed and placed a hand on her head, she knew that she could get away with not telling him and although she barely knew this boy she could tell that he was socially awkward around women, especially around one like her. "Nah... I got in your tent, so... looks like I made it your business."

Ryoga wanted to protest that, in order to seem chivalrous but was cut short when the redhead raised her hand, halting him.

"Look..." Ranma paused, blinking her eyes. "What did you say yer name was?"

Ryoga shook his head while answering the following. "I never said my name..."

Ranma sighed and slapped her forehead, groaning in annoyance. "That's right..." Ranma said, lowering her head in defeat, "sorry, I have trouble rememberin' stuff."

The lost boy shook his head and felt that maybe he should get the introductions started. "Well, I'm Ryoga, Ryoga Hibiki."

Ranma fully crawled out from Ryoga's tent and sat down crossed legged, working the kinks in her neck while doing so. Her slumber had been a bit of a troubled one and therefore made her toss and turn and in the process it also caused the first few of her shirt buttons to become undone.

Ryoga's breathing became deep as his eyes wandered a bit, that was up till his sense of decency sparked back up and he averted his eyes.

Ranma wasn't blind, she noticed where his eyes landed and she had to admit that it did make her a bit nervous that this strange boy was staring at her. She took this as her chance to cover up her undone shirt and then stuck out her hand. "Nice to meet ya'."

Ryoga felt his left eye twitch, the beauty of a redhead had been buttoning up her shirt. Did that mean she knew where he was looking? Why didn't she call him on it or call him some kind of perverted boy who needs to learn some manners? Sure, he was usually more composed than this but this was a unique moment that forced him into this awkward behavior.

Feeling that it was best not to probe, Ryoga reached out his hand and shook it. "A-and what's your name?"

Ranma lowered her head for a moment, still shaking Ryoga's hand, "My name?" Ranma asked, looking up at the sky. The question was difficult for her to even ponder at the moment. Ranma closed her eyes and tried to force some part of her memory through, unfortunately, all she was able to uncover was 'Ran' to her name. "I don't remember anything except Ran... so maybe..." she pondered a bit more before figuring that maybe she was 'Ranko' since she was a girl. "Ranko?"

When she finished giving her name to him, she noticed that their hands were still interlocked. She noted the expression on his face and quickly retracted her hand. "Uh... anyway, I gotta' tell you why I was in your tent..."

Ryoga returned to an even breathing level and nodded his head in approval.

"You see, Ryoga... when I woke up, I didn't have any memory of who I was, all I can tell is that I was probably a martial artist since I can fight but anything besides that and my name is all I can remember. Then I remembered the name of this group of dangerous women called the Joketsuzoku amazons and figured I'd stay away from them and go to this other place I remembered, called..." Ranko scratched her head, making sure she indeed remembered the name. "Yakusai, the herbalist's village!… And when I was tryin' to get there… I stopped to think about it and turns out I ain't got the foggiest idea where Yakusai is."

Ryoga listened to Ranko's explanation with an intense stare, not only because he was interested in her story but because there was something about her that he couldn't quite figure out. It was as if he perhaps knew her at some point in her life… but what confused him more was that she didn't have the image of anyone he ever met. So… why was it that this girl seemed so familiar? "Go on…"

"Yeah… well, when I was think'in and stuff… some crazy chick jumped straight outta' nowhere and tried to kill me!" Ranko exclaimed. "So, I tried to run and then threw some dirt in her eyes to get her off my trail and I got so tired that I saw your tent here and, I guess you can tell the rest, huh?" Ranko said, chuckling somewhat nervously.

Excitement arose in Ryoga's chest, he could help her. He could help this adorable, although somewhat familiar girl gets to her destination. Though he had to wonder why she wanted to go to a herbalists' village. Did they maybe have herbs that could restore her memory? Would it be rude of him to ask? And, _if_ they had a cure for memory loss, could they also have one for his terrible sense of direction? "Why do you want to get to Yakusai?"

"Cause oughtta' have something for me to remember who I am... and who knows? Maybe I have some family there."

Ryoga crossed his arms, the memory part of what she said made sense. The part of her having family seemed a bit off. "Let me ask you something... can you speak, Chinese?"

Ranko shook her head, not sure what he was getting at.

"Then you probably don't have any family here... when I was walking around a few days ago I came across a few towns, and let me tell you... they weren't Japanese," he explained.

Ranko blinked, they were in an entirely different country? She knew what language she was speaking so she assumed that she was in a forest in Japan. It just never crossed her mind to think that she'd be in an entirely different country! There was more mystery shrouded in her background... and she wasn't sure if she wanted to know.

Ryoga watched Ranko's various expressions and was able to tell that perhaps she was scared to figure out who she was. There was something about how fragile she looked… it looked out-of-place but it wasn't so out-of-place that he didn't like it. The best way for Ryoga to express it would be, _rare_. Feeling rather bold, the lost boy reached out and brought his hands to the redhead's shoulders. "Ranko! Let me take you to Yakusai!"

"Huh!" Ranko blinked, blushing brightly. "I-I barely know ya' and you're already wanting to help me!" she demanded, half-shouting.

"I see what you're saying, Ranko... but it's on my honor as a martial artist; I have to help!" Ryoga announced.

Ranko's eyes widened when she saw how strong-willed he seemed about helping her and she knew that he must have been a decent fellow. Why else would he be okay with the fact that she hiding in his tent and not threaten to make her leave? And even she had to accept that fact that this boy could be her key to getting her memories back or was it something else entirely? There was something about this man she couldn't quite explain.

"Okay... but I can take care of myself, y'know..." Ranko replied, scuffing.

Ryoga nodded his head with a slight tinge of red to his cheeks. It was then that both felt something deep within them.

Their stomachs were growling. The two sat there in a calm silence, feeling embarrassed.

"Got anything to eat?" Ranko asked.

"Y-yeah..." Ryoga replied.

* * *

 _A while later..._

Shampoo came back to the village, hanging her head in shame. The nerve of that fake woman! She had the gall to throw dirt in her eyes and then to leave without finishing her off and using that moment of weakness to its fullest. Shampoo was so ashamed of her blundering that she felt that maybe death would have been too good a thing for her right now... but it helped fuel her determination.

Upon entering the village she spotted her great-grandmother. The elder Amazon inspected the condition of her great-granddaughter and found herself snickering. "I see she's more of a challenge than previously thought..."

Shampoo jolted her head to Cologne's eyes and glared. "You is knowing... fake woman escape great-grandmother too," Shampoo countered.

Cologne's expression remained blank before she responded. "A minor setback, child... a minor setback." with that she clanked the bottom of her cane to the ground. "You will thank me in due time, whether or not you consider her a 'fake woman' you will come to appreciate our traditions when the child you've born is the strongest in all of our tribe..."

Shampoo narrowed her eyes before huffing and turning away, "We is seeing..."

It was then that Mousse came from the corner of a house, standing with his arms in his sleeves.

Shampoo passed him by before saying, "Come, Mousse..."

The young man nodded and followed in silence, attentively listening to her as she recalled the events from earlier that day.

* * *

 _Not too long after…_

Genma woke up with a very mean headache. The middle-aged man was no weak by any means, but the women he'd fought the day before had pummeled him without holding back at all, probably because they imagined he was an animal and didn't realize he was a man until his son told them about their curse. The Saotome patriarch rubbed his neck and left shoulder, still sore from the beating, and looked out the window. He was still in the same town as yesterday, and they had put him in a rather comfortable room. Both things were good, as he had expected them to throw him into a pit or to skin him and take his panda fur as a prize. Now, if he could only get something to eat, he could start trying to figure out a way to get him and Ranma out of town.

Even though leaving the kid here for a while as punishment for causing all of this would be a fitting punishment, Genma couldn't do that. The time to take Ranma to meet Soun's children was approaching, and Genma was not going to let the chance of getting the Tendo dojo pass him by. He had already planned using it as his main source of income for his retirement, and even if he had to share it with Soun it wouldn't matter much, as Genma was sure Ranma would be such a fine and popular teacher that students from all over Japan would come to the Tendo dojo begging him to be their sensei.

But to accomplish that, he would have to escape this hellish town full of devil women first.

"You're awake, that's good," a voice called from the door. "Because we have a lot of things to talk about."

Genma turned from the window and found a small, very old woman standing at the threshold. He took in a deep breath and swallowed, the elder was pulsing with power, and that made his skin crawl. Not in the way the old master would, of course, nobody could scare him as much as Happosai, but the way this woman's power flooded the room came darn close.

"What sort of things?" Genma probed, managing somewhat to appear unafraid and in control.

"How strong your son is, for one. How long it will take him to come back to try rescuing you, for another," Cologne supplied. "Would you like something to eat? I'm sure you can tell me what I want during breakfast."

"Food would be good, as for what you want to know, it will depend on the questions you ask," Genma smiled, free food was always enticing, as was the fact that they expected Ranma to rescue him, which meant they wouldn't kill him or hurt him. The best part of all was hearing that Ranma had escaped, for Genma knew his son would not abandon him.

It was unfortunate then, that Genma had no idea what had happened to Ranma the night before.

 _To be continued…_

* * *

DaisukiFox: Thank you for reading! We'd really like this to catch up to the one on the site! This story was once known as... The Angel with No Memory! I'm personally excited for this kind of story. I believe our strengths can play on one another and we hope a lot of you can join us for this ride! We've been planning out the whole story as well as even the next chapter!

 ** _Prescribing Fluff from the doctor~_**

 ** _Doctor Fox~_**


	2. Chapter 2

**Dr. Facer:** Hello and welcome to chapter 2 of Lost Together; in this chapter, we're including things that will really shape the story and many of the events to come. Working on this new chapter with Daisuki was great fun just like last time, and I hope you all enjoy the results of our collaboration as much as we did writing it. Thanks for checking our work!

 **DaisukiFox:** That's right! It's finally here after so long. I just had a blast with the RanRyo interactions in this one cause they allow Ranma and Ryoga to develop as friends in a different way. Despite them hating each other in the anime, they share some similarities that honestly just make them so appealing as a couple! I should know... some of you guys have told me I've made you into RanRyo fans! Much love to our readers! This may even become a comic one day! Who knows? X3

 **Disclaimer** : Dr. Fox(both of us) do not own Ranma in any way shape or form. Ranma ½ belongs to Rumiko Takahashi and Viz media.

 _Lost Together_

By:

Dr. Fox

Chapter 2

* * *

To travel the vast forests of China with a blind sense of direction was often viewed as a suicidal act, but to Ryoga Hibiki, this was nothing but a stroll; that was until hunger set in. Those were his most vulnerable times and he hoped that they didn't come across anything too dangerous on their trip to Yakusai. Though he felt like there were butterflies in his stomach, it still felt as though he had an uneasy feeling around her, but not in the sense of a male being attracted to a female, the reason for this uncertainty remained unsolved.

Ranma, or Ranko as she thought of herself now, walked with her hands in her pockets and couldn't help but glue her eyes to the ground. She was still very much perplexed with her current predicament. Not to mention the convenience of it all! She was a girl with martial arts skills, lost in a forest in China, traveling with a boy who was obviously on some sort of quest and no doubt trying to help Ranko because she appeared to be the damsel in distress.

Even though she didn't want to play that role, she still liked the company, she was human and needed interaction of some sort, any kind in fact, but did it have to really be with a boy she barely knew? If only to add to this strange dilemma he seemed interested in her, in the sense that a boy with a crush would have on some school girl; that lead to some very important and uneasy questions... did she have a boyfriend before all this? Did she use... feminine products on herself? Had she ever been with a man? Had she been into girls in her old life? She was rather tom-boyish after all.

She stopped dead in her tracks when the feeling of being with anyone made her queasy, coupled with the fact that she might have used all those 'feminine' hygiene products. "Eh..." she groaned, placing her hand on her stomach and narrowing her eyes in a very flat line sort of way.

Ryoga stopped to look over his shoulder as his hands were behind his head, looking confused. "What's wrong, Ranko?" he asked, tilting his head to the side, blinking.

Once she met eyes with him she found herself feeling flushed, not sure if she found his posture cute or normal. There was so much confusion in her mind since she still questioned her gender and why she seemed so bothered by the few common things about women. Force was needed to obtain her composure and she even forced her thoughts, instantly going back to thinking she was some strange girl with a tomboy perspective of life.

"N-No! J-Just wonderin' bout' you is all!" she said, hoping to make the conversation about him, maybe to take her mind off her own issues.

Ryoga paused before reluctantly deciding to answer; it wasn't every day that someone found him interesting. That was due to the fact that he was never around anyone long even to develop a relationship in which to have discussions, such as this. "T-There's nothing special about me. I'm just a martial artist on a journey..."

"O-oh? Martial artist, eh? Ya' any good?"

"Well, I–I think so… I've taken on a few bandits and even some wild animals... " Ryoga answered, feeling as though he was stroking his own ego, he rubbed the back of his head.

"Damn! Must be one hell of a style ya got!" she exclaimed.

"Style? I guess you could call it that..." Ryoga took a second to realize how his ' **style** ' differed from others, his head tilted back while thinking it over.

"Guessin' this isn't your run of the mill style?" Ranko asked, a little shocked and perhaps a little excited to hear that the one she was traveling with was skilled in a unique fighting style.

"It's..." Ryoga paused, then looked at the ground and blushed a little, _'How do I put this...?'_ he mulled over in his head.

"Uh-huh...?" Ranko nodded, waiting for him to continue.

"It's my own version of martial arts rhythmic gymnastics..." Ryoga said, his voice growing fainter as he continued to speak, flushed with embarrassment.

"Ain't that, that sport where you twirl a ribbon...?" Ranko inquired, making sure she wasn't hearing things she even reached up to clean her ear out.

"I-It's not just that! There's also balls, hoops, and clubs... Martial Arts is right in the title too!"

Ranko's mind wandered, imagining Ryoga twirling a ribbon around in a yellow leotard. The image was enough to get the girl's lips wobble like a snake scurrying across some sand.

Ryoga's face was glowing red at this point, all he wanted to do was fade from existence so he could avoid having said such a thing but before he could he felt a hand on his shoulder.

Ranko covered her mouth, "H-Hey! I'm sorry, pal... it's just... I thought about you training in a leotard and I just lost it..." Ranko said, hand over her stomach as she looked at him with a friendly smile.

Ryoga found himself blushing at this display of kindness from the redhead; he managed to relax and let out a sigh of relief. "I guess that's okay... my mom did teach it to me when I was just a kid after all..." Ryoga admitted as he began to walk again.

His redheaded companion absentmindedly followed, "Oh? Why's that? Did she want a girl...?"

"W-what!? No! I asked her to train me!"

"Oh! W-wait... why not just go to a dojo?"

He paused to weigh his options, _'Should I really tell her it's because I kept getting lost and missing my class fees?'_ Ryoga thought.

"W-we had money problems..." Ryoga lied knowing that it'd be pretty stupid to admit, considering who he was trying to help.

"Oh... why aren't you some rhythmic gymnast or something?" Ranko asked honestly intrigued, _'If he could train '_ _ **that**_ _' into something that can fights bears or sumthin'...'_ she thought as she moved to walk alongside him.

"Because that's not all I want to do, the truth is... I live to fight but I also have-" Ryoga found himself pausing as he pumped one fist, stopping himself from revealing too much about himself.

At the very moment Ryoga uttered those words _"I live to fight"_ , Ranko found herself staring at the lost boy and finding the noises of the world around her fading. She averted her eyes and looked at the ground, _'Why am I so damn nervous!? Just breathe, okay...'_ Ranko thought so lost in her own world that she failed to notice that Ryoga was doing the same.

 _'Should I tell her? She's been pretty cool about everything else... if kinda' jerky...'_ Ryoga thought before taking a deep breath.

Her eyes left the ground, stealing a quick glance at Ryoga. He appeared to be readying himself for something, for what she was unsure but her she had yet to fully recover from her strange mesmerized state, her breath had slowed to a crawl.

"I'm here to settle a score with someone..."

That caught Ranko by surprise, to think this gentle looking boy actually had some sort of vendetta to get to. Ranko instantly dismissed the idea of his story involving her, since chances are this was a guy and guys had a right to settle disputes involving martial artists testing their ability or simply getting them back for wronging one another. Why didn't she feel the same for women martial artists? How could she have a sexist view of herself? In fact, why had that just come to her? She knew she wasn't weak! She was strong and didn't need to be babied!

Ryoga noticed the look of turmoil in her face and mistook it for concern about him getting into a fight, "I don't think I can let him get away from me anymore, he's going to pay for running out on me..." Ryoga stated, narrowing his eyes as the image of Ranma Saotome flashed in his mind.

Ranko was zapped out of her thought induced trance, her interest being peaked with Ryoga's proclamation of war towards this other boy. "Man, what'd he do to get you to say somethin' like that?" Ranko asked.

"That bastard... he challenged me every day when it came to getting bread at our school together, making me look like a fool and when I finally feel that I can get my revenge, I challenge him to a man-to-man fight! Coward probably ran with his tail between his legs!" Ryoga shouted baring his fangs as he held his hands to his sides, fiercely clenched as burning determination seethed through his veins.

Ranko stared at her companion and noticed his aura coming from his body. She and was able to tell what that signified, not to mention his obvious appearance, it gave away his true intentions. "W-wait, you're angry at him over some bread? You're going around chasing this guy into a whole another country to try and get him for making you look stupid in front of some other guys?" Ranko asked feeling confused as to why he was so annoyed at the bread subject? And how did bread lead to a one-on-one fight?

Ryoga paused for a moment. If he told Ranko that he arrived four days late to their duel, would she stick to traveling on her own? The thought alone made him nervous; he had to think of some sort of lie.

That or avoid the subject and make Ranko believe that Ranma Saotome had chosen to run away from their battle; which he actually did believe to an extent. "He didn't come and then ran off to China. I think I have a reason to be mad..." Ryoga replied, easing his tense expression and saving face with Ranko and her opinion of him.

There was no chance of him ruining his travels with Ranko, he just hoped that the fates would conspire in his favor and allow him the chance to at least become friends with her.

"Look... maybe he had something ta' do and couldn't make it," Ranko stated, hoping to keep Ryoga from taking himself down a very dark path. One weird question that kept popping up was, why did she feel a little offended by him insulting this one person who she had never even met?

"Fine... I'm still going to have my rematch with you, Ranma Saotome... just you wait..." Ryoga stated, looking up in the direction of the sky. It seemed as though he was looking towards the sky, trying to convey his message of revenge to his enemy spiritually.

Ranko found herself staring towards the sky as well, sighing and shaking her head. "Well... thanks for helping me, even though you got such a big grudge against this Ranma guy," Ranko added.

Ryoga turned to Ranko and nodded his head, "We should keep going, we got plenty of hours left in the day to travel... let's not waste them," Ryoga suggested and found himself blushing for maintaining a pretty cool look, glad that he was actually able to stay composed in front of a woman, for once.

* * *

 _A few hours later…_

Our two very lost travelers continued along the path to what they hoped would eventually lead them to Yakusai. Climbing across whatever obstacles Chinese Mother Nature could throw at them, from hills to rivers, nothing but the amount of time spent traveling wore them down.

Eventually, exhaustion set in, with their shoulders slouched they walked as if their minds had gone on autopilot.

"Anything yet…?" the irritated sounding redhead asked.

"If I see anything, you'll be the first to know…" Ryoga responded, cutting some dense foliage with his bandanna like a makeshift machete.

There was simply nothing they could do as they were completely unaware of what was going on in the area they were in; right now their best bet was to come across literally anything that could maybe point them in the right direction.

Ranko felt rampant boredom overtake her, for as much as she'd like to keep things professional between the two, she knew if she did strike up some sort of conversation she was going to go mad from counting every single boulder they crossed on their way, _'78, 79… Oh, and would you look at that… 80! God, I'm bored...!'_ Ranko groaned in her head.

On Ryoga's side of the fence, he honestly hadn't a clue what to say to the red-headed girl, _'What should I say?'_ Ryoga thought absentmindedly slashing away at whatever came his way.

"Hey! Ryo!" Ranko called, trying to get the lost boy's attention.

 _'I mean… I know we just met and all…'_

"Ryoga! Hey man… are you listenin'?"

 _'What the hell do you ask a girl that doesn't remember anything!?'_ Ryoga thought, shutting his eyes closed.

"RYOGA!" Ranko screamed, her eyes closing.

"Huh!?" Ryoga stopped in mid-swing to see why he was being called so urgently.

"Any reason you're going in circles, Ryoga?" Ranko asked as she crossed her arms, one of her hands drumming her fingers on her arm.

At first, Ryoga thought she was only kidding, or rather he hoped she was since he had made a sizable somewhat circular clearing of their current location. Quickly he thought of an excuse, "I–I was… clearing us a campsite?"

Giving him a look that Ryoga could only describe as her silently saying, "Yeah… I'm sure you were," she figured it wasn't worth commenting on and strolled onto Ryoga's accidental creation, hands on her hips as she checked the foundation.

"Not bad actually…" she blinked.

Exhaling Ryoga was glad to have at least made himself useful, _'Least I can do... I couldn't imagine being lost with her...'_ he thought with a sympathetic tone to his inner thoughts.

"We ought to get a fire going, huh? Ryoga...?"

 _'Alright, I could… but a girl without a memory? She doesn't really seem scared though…'_ Ryoga's eyes shifted to the side when he came to this conclusion.

"Really? Again! Ugh..."

 _'Ranko is nothing like any of the girls I've ever met be-'_ Ryoga's mind shifted back into full gear, helping him evade a small but clearly not lacking in force fist aiming for his chin.

Ranko stood with her fist aimed towards the sky, looking pleasantly surprised rather than upset for having missed, "So you weren't bluffing..."

"You could have just asked to spar!" Ryoga shouted feeling angry at being attacked like that.

"I know! But this was way more fun..." Ranko chuckled as she brought her fist down and took an offensive battle stance.

Ryoga stared at her with one eye twitching in annoyance, _'Either she's a bit of a jerk or way too damn cocky...'_ he thought as he narrowed his eyes and met Ranko's. "You want to spar, right?"

"Yeah! I wanna see where I'm at so dat next time I see those Joketsuzoku amazon goons I can give em' some payback!" Ranko said as she encircled her yellow-clad sparring mate.

"Alright, then, let's spar!" Ryoga agreed, holding his arms out in front of him; fists clenched.

Naturally, Ranko took the lead, unleashing an onslaught of right hooks and left hooks. All of which were met by Ryoga, pushing Ranko's wrists away from him, deflecting some direct attack with his forearm.

They jumped back to create some space between them, neither leaving the sight of the other as they would only occasionally glance at one another's form. Desperately trying to find a hole in their defenses, they attempted to try their luck once they've made a complete rotation.

 _"Arrr...!"_ They roared as they dashed to the center.

Strike after strike, something was becoming apparent and quite agitating to the redheaded. "Hit back, dammit!" Ranko demanded with red-hot intensity.

Refusing to do as she said, the lost boy desperately tried to keep Ranko at bay. His tactic could only hold out for so long as her superior speed was starting to overwhelm him.

Ranko moved as if she was poised to deliver a powerful uppercut, the lost boy's pupils resembled pin-needles as he swiftly yanked his head back at the last second. "Gotcha!" Ranko shouted triumphantly.

The lost boy received two well-executed strikes right onto his rib cage, just beneath his pectorals. "Oomph!" Ryoga's eyes widened as he felt his body hurt.

With such a docile opponent Ranko couldn't really feel any sort of rush or excitement so her feelings reflected in her actions and all of her attacks filled with speed and aggression, "I said hit back you-!" the redhead was cut short as she swung her right arm.

"Fine!" Ryoga exclaimed, waiting for the right moment he took one step forward, grabbing Ranko by the collar of her shirt, catching her off balance. She gasped as his other hand, not even a second later reached out and grabbed Ranko by her by the forearm of her silk shirt.

Before she knew it she was on her back, having gone so quickly that she ended up getting a bit of whiplash from the amount of force put behind Ryoga's overhead throw. Ranko swore she heard her skull ' _thunk_ ' on the ground. She grimaced and opened her eyes to see Ryoga's fist-shaking from having stopped before making contact.

Ranko gasped and quickly rolled out of harm's way, quickly getting back up. "Why'd ya' stop, huh!?" She asked with a quizzical but also enraged look.

"Th-that doesn't matter...I would have won anyway!" Ryoga said in his defense.

"What!? That was luck! Besides you're not even taking this seriously!" Ranko shouted as a bead of sweat came from the side of her head.

Ryoga focused in on Ranko and noticed that she was breathing heavier than him, _'She's tougher than I thought, most people couldn't take—ugh"_ Ryoga thought before gritting, reaching one hand out to his ribs.

Not even giving him a chance to reply she sprinted her way over to him. Ranko saw his eyes widen, watching as he tried to either block or completely evade her attacks. Never ending swings and kicks flew towards Ryoga but that did little to keep Ryoga from playing on the defensive, _'I know they're hurting you! So why won't you hit back!?'_ Ranko thought, her actions just as intense as the inner monolog.

Every time Ranko managed to get past his defenses, Ryoga would push past all his pain at any time that he saw he could make any kind of counterattack. An opportunity presented itself, during one of the girl's attacks he saw that he was able to land a blow to Ranko's face.

 _'I–I just can't!'_ Ryoga's subconscious mind cried.

Ryoga's fist had gone full force but stopped as though it were a train in need of an emergency stop. It even caused Ranko's hair to sway as though it were a gentle gust of wind.

She stared at the fist that Ryoga had dared to halt; she found her eye twitching as she jumped back and glared at him, "Stop treating me like some defenseless little princess!"

"I don't hit girls, it's dishonorable!" Ryoga exclaimed, finally just blurting out his reason.

"I ain't like the other girls you've seen! I can fight-" Ranko choked on her words and shook her head, wishing she had a pillow to scream in. She knew that if honor was involved and it was another martial artist, it was almost impossible to reason with them.

He recoiled upon seeing her reaction, fear setting in as he tried to say something else in hopes of lightening the mood so they could maybe go back to setting up camp. "Ranko! I just... look!" Ryoga's head had tilted down, trying to organize his thoughts.

"I just wanted a good fight but nooo..." Ranko complained, crossing her arms and walking away from the lost boy.

"Would you let me explain!?" Ryoga shouted, throwing his arms out in front of him as he followed after her.

"I know what it was and I don't care! The last thing I want to see is you, so stay put!" Ranko ordered coming to a stop and shouting, refusing to face Ryoga.

A look of shock and despair hit Ryoga as he closed his mouth, trying to offer any sort of counterargument but knew that he really couldn't say much of anything as it was obvious that she wanted a fight, one where she was treated as an equal.

"I messed up..." Ryoga muttered, standing before the nearest tree, proceeding to bash his head against it, _'I can't even say anything right around a tomboy...'_ Ryoga thought right before he felt a few acorns gently bounce off his head.

Ranko stopped as she considered just getting over it, grinding her teeth she heard Ryoga bop his head against a tree. She blinked before looking over her shoulder, seeing him show genuine remorse, _'Least he knows what gets on my nerves... hopefully I get a real fight out of him next time...'_ she pondered.

"I ain't some weak little girl! Got that!?" Ranko screamed over her shoulder as she marched away from Ryoga.

* * *

 _A few minutes after…_

She kicked a small pebble up as she walked and caught it skillfully with her left hand without missing a beat. She then proceeded to place the little rock between her fingers and used her thumb to shoot it at a near tree, grinning when she managed to hit the trunk with ease. She had done this trick a few times already, as it helped her vent the frustration she experienced after Ryoga refused to properly spar with her. She guessed she should appreciate he was being a gentleman and all, but she wasn't defenseless and he should have seen that. Sighing, she kicked up another stone and tossed it extra hard, breaking a branch in two with a satisfying snap!

' _Hah! I bet that moron can't do that!_ ' she thought, reasoning with Ryoga was not as accurate as she had just discovered she was. Not that he actually needed to, though; as her sore knuckles indicated, her new friend had muscles harder than steel and he was probably far stronger than a bear. He didn't need to be precise while being that strong and durable.

' _But on the other hand, I made him hurt, which means I'm pretty strong myself, with emphasis on the pretty!_ ' She decided as she recalled her good looks. The redhead decided to cling to these details as they helped her feel better about herself. She was strong, fast, skilled at martial arts and gorgeous, too! Sure, she couldn't recall her life before the… _The incident_ , with that strange Amazon nutjob that had tried to kill her, but if she was this skilled then it meant she was very special, and she rather enjoyed how proud that made her feel.

' _Now, if I could only remember my past, then things would be awesome,_ ' she thought, once again demanding some answers from her brain and once again receiving a big, fat zero for an answer.

' _Meh_ , _stupid brain,_ ' she thought with a frown.

The girl stopped when she found an old wooden fence blocking the path she had started walking in just a few minutes before. She leaned on the old planks and looked at the land ahead. A neglected rice field greeted her, and she could see a ruined cabin further ahead, too.

' _Doesn't look that bad from here,_ ' she decided, thinking it may be a better place to spend the night than out in the open. Thinking it was worth a closer look Ranko jumped over the fence and approached the house.

It had burned. Or at least that was what the blackened bricks told her. She was circling the old house now and was more and more convinced that a fire had consumed part of it, but it seemed the previous owners had managed to save at least a third of the structure. It wasn't much, of course, but it looked sturdy enough and should suffice in case she and Ryoga really needed a place to stay that night. But that was only the outside. She had to check the inside to make sure they wouldn't fall through the floor all the way to the basement. Thinking this, she returned to the front of the cabin and pushed the old burnt door open.

"Well, it ain't that bad on the inside either," she muttered as she stepped in and looked around. "I bet with some work it'd be good as new in no time…"

She heard a noise in the adjacent room and immediately went silent. She eyed the dark space to her left and pressed herself to the wall, believing it would be wiser to slowly edge her way to the exit. She wasn't afraid of fighting if she had to, but that didn't mean she would recklessly put herself in danger if she could avoid it.

The noise again, only this time she could identify what it was. Someone was crying. Ranko instinctively took a step in the direction of the sound but stopped when she realized it could be dangerous. More weeping was heard and, cursing herself for doing this, she slowly walked to the other room until she was able to peek inside from the empty door frame.

"Hey, are you alright?" Ranko asked when she found that the person crying in there was another redheaded girl who appeared to be in her late teens. The strange girl, despite her mortified expression, was simply stunning and Ranko was speechless as she looked at the other redhead's wet and glistening blue eyes. She noticed the girl had fangs similar to Ryoga's, and strangely pointy ears as well. There was something odd about the teenager, Ranko decided, something almost… _animal_ , about her that made her slightly wary of approaching her further.

' _But she's cryin' so I can't just leave her alone_ ' she thought.

"You… You from Japan?" the fanged girl asked, answering with heavy accented Japanese as she wiped her tears with her sleeve, "why you here in border to Musk Dynasty territory, it too, too dangerous for outsider women!"

Ranko sighed, figures she would walk into trouble. Was this one of her talents before losing her memory or something? First, she'd gained the hate of some crazy Amazon chick and now she'd walked into a bad situation she was sure she would regret getting involved with.

"Sorry, I'm kind of lost right now," she said. "Look, I really don't wanna cause trouble or anything so if you're ok perhaps I should go… is this your house? You need help?

"Not my house," the other redhead said. "I… just needed rest. I must go now before they…"

As if on cue, a loud crash was heard outside and Ranko rushed to the window. Spying from the corner, she had to swallow as she cursed her luck. It seemed she _definitively_ had a talent for walking into trouble.

There were two large, hairy and bulky men outside. One of them was casually crushing an old cart with his hands while the other crouched to pick up a handful of dirt, which he sniffed at with his rather porcine looking nose. The men wore some sort of uniform, and Ranko wondered if these were cops or soldiers or something along those lines.

"Boar family trackers from Musk Palace, bad, bad, bad!" the fanged girl muttered with a fear-filled whisper. "They got my smell again! We must escape, you and I, fast!"

"But… whadda ya mean?" Ranko managed to get out before the other girl pulled her away from the open window.

"They be too strong!"

"Hey, I'm strong too and I bet I can fight them!" Ranko argued, she didn't like having her skills underestimated, not after learning how good at fighting she was just a few minutes prior.

"You not be silly! You stay here, you die!" The other woman sentenced, and before Ranko could reply she rushed out of the house, using a hole in the wall to escape in the direction opposite where the two large men stood.

"Hey, wait!" Ranko hissed. She was about to follow the girl, but a sparkle of light caught her eye then and she looked down, finding a very elaborate and obviously expensive ring on the floor. She picked it up and marveled at the oriental dragon carved on it and at the two small diamonds attached to the little dragon's eyes. "Well, who wants to bet this thing's invaluable?"

"So the criminal is Japanese trash!" One of the massive men said from the window, exactly behind Ranko. "Block the exit while I capture her!"

"Wait, I'm not a…!"

Ranko couldn't even finish her sentence. The Boar tracker punched through the wall and forced her to jump out of the way and the barrage of punches the man threw at her ensured that speaking was the last thing she could attempt. Dodging the surprisingly fast onslaught with increasing difficulty due to the enclosed room, Ranko realized she had to do something soon or the man would capture her, and he was clearly not in the mood to listen to reason either. A quick look confirmed the other man was blocking the door, so she would have to do as the other girl and escape through the hole in the wall.

Or that's what she thought, for her attacker noticed where she was looking at, he immediately figured out her intentions. With a quick step, he put his massive frame between her and the hole. And the other one was not moving away from the door! They had effectively trapped her!

' _Gonna have ta fight my way through!_ ' she thought as she ducked another punch, taking this chance to hit back, striking with all her might and hitting the tracker below the ribs, hoping to drive the wind out of him. Her attack had little effect, though, and the man responded with a kick that she had to jump over.

"Stand still you filthy woman!" The tracker demanded as he redoubled his efforts to hit the evasive redhead. "You're only making it worse!"

"I'm not a criminal, you stupid, pig-faced moron! Now just calm down, so I can exp… _oooff!_ "

"Who are you calling pig-face, you tramp?" The furious tracker screamed. He had just landed a hard kick on Ranko thanks to the rage being called a pig ignited in him. He was aware of his appearance, he was rather sensitive about it and heavily disliked being reminded of it.

Ranko crashed into the wall so hard it almost knocked her out, and as she struggled to remain both on her feet and conscious, she understood that she was really outmatched here. Perhaps in an open space, she could have a chance to use her speed and agility against this brute, but here? Cramped in this tiny space he had the advantage and even if she somehow managed to defeat this 'boar tracker' person, there was still another one ready to take his place.

' _Can't afford to take another hit like that,_ ' she thought as she shook her head and refocused on the fight. The man was approaching her slowly, it seemed he believed she was beaten and all he had to do was grab her. Well, he had another thing coming. During her sparring session with Ryoga just a few minutes before, Ranko had realized she had a knack for noticing details about her opponents. She believed it was thanks to any training she had received before and she was using it now to analyze the porcine thug attacking her.

' _He sure hates being called a pig, even lost control when I did..._ ' she mused as she noticed the wall was very weak now after she crashed into it. A plan formed in her mind in a fraction of a second, and feeling certain it would work, she decided to give it a try.

"Hey, mister pig, that all ya got?" she said in a mocking tone, doing her best to appear unaffected by the hard kick. "I have a friend who hits harder n' you and he's only half your size!"

"What did you call me?" The tracker roared, his aura becoming visible as anger overtake his common sense. "I'll teach you a lesson in manners before taking you in, you insolent little…!"

The massive man growled and crouched, preparing to charge at the redheaded teenager, which was exactly what Ranko was hoping for. Smirking, she stuck her tongue out and pulled open her mouth with her fingers, knowing this would only enrage his attacker even more.

"Try it, pig face!"

Roaring, the tracker did just as Ranko wanted and launched his massive frame at her, hoping to squash her. And that was when Ranko rolled to the side, letting the man crash head first against the brick and wood wall. The resulting impact did little to hurt the Musk soldier other than momentarily trapping him in the wall, but his efforts to get free started shaking the house in a very alarming way.

"Uh… nice ta meet ya and all that, but I gotta run!" Ranko said once she noticed what was about to happen and before the other tracker could chase her, she jumped out the house and escaped the farm as fast as she could. She heard a loud crash behind her just as he cleared the old fence, which meant the house had finally collapsed. She guessed it was safe, so she stopped and looked back to make sure nobody was following her.

She wished she hadn't. The man who had stayed near the door was still on his feet and was helping his friend crawl out of the rubble, once he completed his task, he focused on Ranko and started running after her!

"Ah! Damnit! Just my luck!" she groaned in frustration and started running again. She only had a small head start and was determined to make the best out of it, so she jumped to a nearby tree and used a branch to bounce further ahead, gaining more ground on her pursuer.

* * *

 _Back in the campsite…_

Ryoga, calmer now, was sitting next to a fire he had finally managed to start after collecting some wood. He had stayed near the campsite and been extra careful not to wander off, as he couldn't bear the thought of getting lost on Ranko now that he had decided to help her to the best of his abilities. He still lamented their argument and was currently trying to figure out a way to give the redhead a good spar without hurting her, which wasn't as easy as he thought since he really feared what one of his punches could do to her.

' _I do have to give her credit for what she did, nobody had ever hurt me this way so far,_ ' he thought, rubbing his bruised torso. Ranko had figured fairly quickly that the best way to hurt him was to punch him repeatedly in the same spot, and she had gone all out on his right side, particularly the ribs. ' _She must have hit me at least fifty times right here, that girl is very fast._ '

He poked at the fire with a stick and winced a little. She had really gone nuts with the rib shots, and that annoyed him. He decided he'd have to do some exercises to strengthen his chest and torso because he felt she would try the same trick the next time they sparred.

"Ryooooooooooga!"

He looked up from the fire, instantly alarmed at the way she was screaming his name, she wasn't anywhere in sight but was probably not too far away. He got to his feet and started in what he believed was the direction her voice came from but stopped after two steps. What if he went the wrong way? If she was in danger he couldn't afford getting lost!

' _Is it the Amazons she mentioned again?_ ' he thought, feeling more and more worried, with each passing second. Where was she coming from?

"Start picking up camp you idiot, we gotta leave!"

He turned left and saw her run out of the woods as if the hounds of hell were chasing her. It was a good thing he had decided to stay put, otherwise he would have gone in a different direction, complicating things more than what they appeared to already be.

"What's going on?" He asked.

"Some pig-faced freak is coming after me!" she answered, breathing hard as she leaned on her knees to recover a little. "He's ain't no pushover either, I dropped a house on the guy and he's…"

"You what? Look, you're not making any sense, calm down!" He urged, trying to sound in control but feeling restless at her words. Ryoga knew he could probably fight a person strong enough to resist having a house falling on them, but he wasn't sure he could actually win that battle, and that suddenly worried him. Just what had Ranko done?

"No time for that!" She shouted. "We hafta go before he gets here!"

"Too late, I am here!" a loud voice announced. "And I'm not going to just arrest you; I'll make you pay for what you did to my cousin!" he threatened but taking a step forward had caused some debris from the house to fall from his hairy form.

"You actually dropped a house on them..." Ryoga muttered in disbelief, trying his best not to look scared in front of the newcomer.

"They think I'm some other girl and got all ticked off. They didn't give me much of a choice, okay?" Ranko said sourly once she noted the accusing way Ryoga was staring at her. "It's not as if I'm always looking for trouble or anything!"

"Could have fooled me," Ryoga sighed and ignoring the ' _I heard that!_ ' Ranko muttered behind him, walked to meet the hulking man that had followed her to the camp.

"Uh… mister, we don't want any trouble," he said. "If we can talk about this I'm sure we can…"

Ryoga couldn't complete the sentence, as he got a hard punch to the face before he could finish what he was trying to say. The strike was tremendous and he was sent flying all the way to a nearby tree, which fell upon the impact.

"Ryoga!" Ranko screamed, worry for her friend making her feel a ball of fear around her throat.

"He's not getting up after that!" The tracker boasted. "And now it's time to punish you!"

"You bastard, he didn't do anything to you!" the redhead yelled. Her concern had turned to fury, and she had now abandoned any thought of escaping, "you... you miserable pig faced freak!"

"Bring it on, girly!" The man shouted and charged at her, "I'll squash you!"

This time Ranko actually fared better than during the previous fight with the other tracker, being in the open gave her the chance to dodge with ease and to use the space to outmaneuver her opponent, something she was doing quite well, ducking under his punches and jumping over his kicks while moving back and forth, landing several kicks on the big man's head and neck, even making him stagger once.

But he still didn't fall.

"What the hell are you made of?" A frustrated Ranko said as she landed after delivering a powerful kick that didn't do much to her opponent. She was starting to tire and she knew she had only a few more punches and kicks in her. If she didn't beat him soon…

"Hah! You should never underestimate a Musk warrior!" The tracker said, "We're the strongest around and…!"

And the man was interrupted by the tip of a heavy umbrella colliding with his mouth. Ryoga had thrown his makeshift weapon at the Musk tracker, it hit him so hard that he finally fell on his back.

"You don't look that strong to me, asshole!" Ryoga said from behind Ranko.

"I thought you were out like a light," she said, failing to keep the relief she felt from showing in her voice.

"Yeah, well, he surprised me. That's all," he answered, "now, what do you say we kick his butt?"

"I can do it alone," Ranko said, her competitive drive returning immediately.

"I'm sure you can, but I have to pay him back for this!" Ryoga said and pointed at his bruised cheek.

"Alright, now you've done it!" The furious soldier shouted as he got up and threw Ryoga's umbrella to the side. "You both are getting pounded!"

"Ryoga… I have a plan. I'll hit high and you'll hit low," Ranko whispered as she got ready for the soldier's upcoming attack. "He's strong but his defense is lame. He won't be able to stop us both, ok?"

"Yeah, ok."

The tracker cracked his knuckles and attacked again, this time he tried to punch Ranko first as he believed her friend hadn't fully recovered, just yet. This proved to be a mistake, as Ranko had no trouble jumping high out of harm's way, spinning in the air and smashing her heel on his left ear, while Ryoga used this chance to dash close and deliver a powerful punch straight on the soldier's abdomen.

This combination worked where individual attacks failed and the soldier fell to his knees, one hand over his gut and the other covering his bleeding ear. He felt his head spinning and his stomach twisting, and he considered defeat for the first time since the fight started. These were no ordinary kids he was facing here!

"Ryoga, shall we?" Ranko called motioning at the soldier while making a fist with her right hand.

"Yes, let's," he answered doing the same thing she did.

"Wait, let's talk!" the soldier pleaded to no effect. The teenagers were far too angry to listen and rushed at him to slam their fists right on his jaw, sending him flying backward, all the way to the edge of the clearing.

"And there's more where that came from!" Ranko shouted.

"Go away, and make sure I don't see you again, I don't like men who hurt women!" Ryoga seconded, baring his fangs in a furious gesture.

The tracker nodded and got up slowly, staring at his opponents with newfound respect and a little fear… though it was only the boy who made him feel a wave of fear climbing up his spine; the soldier hadn't noticed before but this boy, his fangs but particularly his ki… it was not normal, it almost felt like if it belonged to a member of the hunting clans in the Musk Dynasty. That was, of course, a stupid idea but since he was already hurting enough, the tracker decided a strategic retreat was his best chance, so he simply turned and jumped into the forest, escaping a fight he knew he couldn't win.

' _I'll have to bring help next time!_ ' He thought as he ran.

* * *

 _A few minutes later…_

Ryoga finished packing his tent and put it in his trusty backpack, which he quickly swung over his shoulder. He and Ranko had decided to move before the soldier returned with reinforcements, it was the best thing they could do right now and they knew they had to do it so they had put as much distance between them and where they were, before nightfall.

"I coulda beat him on my own, you know?" Ranko said as she started walking next to Ryoga.

"I guess you could have, but together we defeated him faster," he said, trying to stay in a straight line and not exactly managing it.

"Yep, s'true," she conceded. "I hope that's the last we see of him, though."

"Me, too," he sighed. "I hope we get to Yakusai without any more trouble..."

"We were both, kind of cool, weren't we?" She said after a few minutes of silence. "That umbrella throw you did was _pretty_ awesome..."

"It was, wasn't it?" Ryoga said with a smile, feeling strangely happy someone other than his parents complemented his fighting skills.

"And I was great too, wasn't I?" She asked, giving him a somewhat cocky smile.

"Yes, that spinning kick you did in midair was very impressive," he answered, looking at her and offering her a soft, honest smile. "You're full of surprises, Ranko… and a hell of a fighter, too..."

"Yeah… I s'pose I am…" she answered, smiling back. She sighed and lowered her face when he returned his attention to the old map he had pulled from his bag; she felt shy around him all of a sudden and that troubled her. Why… why did it feel so nice when he praised her?

' _I bet nobody ever said nice things to me like that before,_ ' she decided as she silently followed Ryoga, not noticing he was heading for the mountains and getting them both even more lost than before.

Deep in her thoughts, Ranko continued walking beside Ryoga. Her thoughts eventually shifted from him to the strange girl she had met in the house, and she wondered why those Musk trackers were after her… perhaps they wanted that ring she'd dropped in the house?

' _Yeah, that's probably it,_ ' she thought. ' _A shame I dropped it, otherwise, I coulda gave it to those idiots and avoided all this trouble..._ '

What Ranko didn't know yet was that she hadn't dropped the ring, she had instead put it in her pocket without realizing it and now she carried with her a very valuable treasure. A treasure the Prince heir of the Musk Dynasty wanted to recover by any means necessary.

* * *

 _In the Amazon village…_

A few Amazons were gathered at Joketsuzoku's gates. The women stood in a semi-circle around Elder Cologne, who was explaining the situation at hand to them: a young redheaded teenager had escaped the village before receiving punishment for interrupting the martial arts tournament, something they already were aware of, but they didn't know the girl had left her father behind. What really mattered was that Cologne wanted the fugitive back, and when Cologne wanted something, all Amazons could do nothing but obey and help her achieve it.

"You all know what the girl looks like. Go, find her and bring her back here!" Cologne ordered.

"I will find that fake woman first," Shampoo, who had stayed by the village's gates, said once the other Amazons were gone. "I have a score to settle with her."

"That 'fake woman' is a man," Cologne stated, "and by tradition, he's your rightful husband."

"Eating dirt would be better than marrying him," the young Amazon declared. "You know I must kill _her_ if I find her first."

" _If_ you find her," Cologne smiled wolfishly, realizing this could be a chance to enhance Shampoo's already considerable training regime. All she had to do was to goad her into finding the missing Saotome and the ensuing search and possible conflict would surely make her great-granddaughter stronger.

"What are you thinking?" The teenager asked.

"I'll offer you a deal," Cologne said. "Find and defeat this Saotome boy before the others and bring him here so I can talk to him; do it and I'll convince the village council to ignore our rules so you don't have to marry him."

"That sounds too good to be true," Shampoo said, but then nodded, realizing this way she wouldn't have to actually kill Ranma, something that pleased her since she wasn't a murderer and now that she had somewhat calmed down, had realized didn't want to become. That didn't mean she wouldn't destroy him for humiliating her, though. "Deal, I'll bring him back defeated!"

"Then take this with you," Cologne said and handed Shampoo a white rag.

"What's this?"

"It's his father's," the elder stated. "Show it to him and that will convince the Saotome boy to fight you, or you can use it to lure him back here. Either way, it should be useful."

"Fine, not that I need it," Shampoo said and, after bowing to Cologne goodbye, she dashed all the way to the house behind the town's school. She had to enlist Mousse's help again, as she believed with his help she would be able to track down and destroy that irritating man-woman in battle.

* * *

 _In a cell somewhere in the Amazon village…_

"Do you play shogi?" Cologne asked as she entered Genma Saotome's cell. She carried a shogi board with her and was hoping to get a good game out of her captive. "It's been years since I played, nobody here likes it much."

"I don't see why not," Genma said as he stood up from his bed. He had been napping, as there weren't many other things to do, and decided that humoring the woman was in his best interests, plus a good shogi game was always a nice distraction, he could certainly use one.

"Thank you for providing that bandana," Cologne said once she finished setting the shogi board.

"I still don't understand why you needed it," the Saotome patriarch said with a sour tone. He didn't enjoy having his bald head exposed as he believed it made him look undignified.

"Your son will come back once he sees it," the ancient martial artist provided. "If he's such a devoted son as you said, his father's safety will be his weakness."

"Oh… I see… quite devious of you," Genma said. He was certain his son would try to rescue him; all he hoped was that Ranma wouldn't fall for any tricks. No, he decided, he had trained Ranma well in the ways of the Saotome Style Anything Goes Martial Arts, which meant his son should be able to tell the difference between a trick and an honorable challenge from a mile away.

' _And as long as this woman keeps thinking Ranma is such a perfect gentleman, the boy will have the advantage. Let's hope things stay that way until we're both back in Japan,_ ' he thought as he reached for his first akoma(shogi piece), making the first move of the game.

* * *

 **Dr. Facer** : The story will continue in chapter 3! :)

 **DaisukiFox** : We'll see ya' then! Take care! Try to read and review, fav and all that good stuff! X3

 ** _Prescribing Fluff from the doctor~_**

 ** _Doctor Fox~_**


	3. Chapter 3

**DaisukiFox:** Wow... this chapter I feel very proud of. The amount of RanRyo in this! We've managed to get to page 3. We hope to get further and hope you guys join us along for the ride! I may have gone a little overboard here but this was a rare instance. Means more content for you guys! ^^

 **Dr. Facer** : As Daisuki said we really are proud of this chapter, We really think this one has plenty of content for all of you and there's plenty of details here and there that hint at what's coming in the next chapters that I'm sure you'll find interesting. I hope you all enjoy reading this one! ( ^_^)

 **Disclaimer** : Dr. Fox(both of us) do not own Ranma in any way shape or form. Ranma ½ belongs to Rumiko Takahashi and Viz media.

 _Lost Together_

By:

Dr. Fox

Chapter 3

* * *

It hadn't been too long since their encounter with the Musk warrior but our wayward duo ventured forth on their journey for truth. The blue skies began to wane as the sun reached the horizon. They paid it little mind as they continued to traverse the land until they reached the end of a sloped hill. Ranko stopped to inspect how they'd get down, until she saw Ryoga from the corner of her eye, looking towards the setting sun.

His hand came up to his face and guarded his eyes as he looked towards the sun, "Sure is nice… isn't it?" Ryoga commented as he smiled softly.

"Like to take time and smell the roses, eh?" Ranko jokingly questioned as she stood next to him, _'Why not? Been a crazy day…'_ she thought, seeing that the sun was falling to the point it was safe enough for her and Ryoga to look at.

Ryoga's eyes wandered over to the redhead beside him, _'Tomboy or not… she's still really easy on the eyes…'_ he thought before looking away and gluing his eyes to the ground. He awkwardly took a step closer to her, the action alone triggered Ryoga's heart and a nervous sweat to break out.

Her actions told him that she wasn't actually paying attention to her surroundings but rather doing as Ryoga had suggested, taking in the moment.

Seeing that she wasn't about to comment on the fact that he had gotten closer, Ryoga felt his heart return to a normal rate, _'I should probably enjoy the view…'_ Ryoga thought. "There's just a better one right here…" he said, accidentally speaking out loud.

"H-huh?" Ranko blinked as she looked over to her traveling buddy and saw that his smile was warm and welcoming.

"D-did I say here? I-I mean there!" Ryoga said, panicking as he pointed in some random direction, which, was also conveniently the way they'd need to get down safely.

"A way down! G-great!" Ranko announced as she pointed to the rocks that would allow them safe passage, _'He was looking at me… did he seriously compliment me or… the view?'_ she thought frantically.

"Let's go!" Ryoga was laughing nervously as she leads the two down.

"L-let's!" she said somewhat nervously as well.

Despite avoiding eye contact or conversation as they walked, they were soon unable to ignore that it was getting quite dark out. Ranko had finally gotten her breathing to a tolerable feeling. Their situation had been so awkward that the two had done everything they could to continue traveling as much as possible.

After roughly an hour, it was about time they had gotten themselves composed. They were unable to ignore one thing though, the fact that they had been going around in literal circles.

"Isn't that the same tree we saw just a little while ago…?" Ranko commented.

"I guess it's too dark for us to see where we're going…" Ryoga said as he looked around.

"Let's set up camp I guess…" Ranko started until it dawned on her. "How big was your tent, again?" she asked.

"It's enough for the both of us but…" he started only to look away from Ranko. "I'll sleep outside." he announced making it clear he wasn't taking 'no' for an answer.

"You sayin' I'm not tough enough to rough it outside?" Ranko accused with a quirked brow.

"It's not that… we barely know each other and sharing a tent could be…" Ryoga replied hoping that Ranko would get the message loud and clear.

"Oh! We-weird, yeah, I get it…" Ranko answered, feeling a little weird now as if she almost wanted to spend the night next to Ryoga with the possibility of her and Ryoga getting close while they slept.

"And about the princess, thing…" he began but stopped as he pushed some leaves out of the way before turning around to speak and stare in bewilderment.

"Yeah…?" Ranko hummed.

"Whoa…"

"How does-" she turned to see where he was facing, seeing what he was staring at in such a stupor. They had stumbled upon a perfect camping spot with tall trees and quite a few rocks almost set up like furniture given their size.

A gentle river accompanied the stone decorations a little further ahead of the two; the noises around them sung a warm and romantic tune that felt almost magical. If only the two in such a place weren't so busy staring in shock as the moon even reflected from the clear water in front of them.

"Huh… this place might be a little too good…" Ranko said in awe but the kind where you're completely scared.

"Y-yeah… awfully… n-nice…" he faked coughed as he put his hand just beneath his mouth, avoiding eye contact least he let the romantic allure of their surroundings take him.

Ranko and Ryoga's eyes resembled little circles with no pupils to their eyes. It literally felt as though they were one step away from playing romantic music.

"I'll get the firewood!" Ranko declared, marching with stiff robot like steps.

Ryoga quickly dropped to a knee and began unpacking camp, "I'll set up camp!" he exclaimed with a nervous smile.

A little time had gone by and Ryoga was seen sitting on his knees, placing a teapot on a wooden stand. A small pile of wood stacked next to him as he stood up and put his hands on his hips; looking around for his backpack.

All seemed well until Ranko tripped on a rock while walking over, causing her to let out a brief shout, only to feel Ryoga's hands meet her from underneath the pile.

"I'm sorry! It looked like you were going to fall, so, I just… acted…" Ryoga looked to the side as he blushed a little and stepped away from the redhead.

"Nah, thanks actually…" Ranko replied but then dropped the wood right next to where Ryoga was seated.

"You're welcome," Ryoga said going back to sitting on his knees as he picked up a cup of instant ramen, peeling back the lid enough to allow them to pour water into it.

"So, remember that thing you were trying to tell me about?" Ranko inquired while plopping herself down and watching Ryoga peel another lid back.

"About treating you like a princess, I didn't mean to… well, I guess I did, but what I meant to say-" he started going on a tangent before getting cut off.

"Just spit it out already…" Ranko muttered, rolling her eyes as she waited for him to answer.

"I-I'm sorry…" Ryoga began and felt shame for not having respected her wishes; this shame was expressed in the form of him bowing his head. "I'd like a re-rematch if you're okay with that," he offered with uncertainty written all over his face.

"You mean you're actually going to swallow your pride and fight me like a man?" Ranko asked, skeptical, of course, but seeing the seriousness in his eyes she could only see that his words mirrored his inner feelings as well.

"After our last fight together, I'd be stupid to underestimate you…" Ryoga countered.

This caused her to smirk, lowering her head with her eyes closed. "About time ya' got serious…"

"Maybe I want payback for all these rib shots, Ranko…" Ryoga said, swearing that her mood was somewhat contagious as his smile quickly grew into a strong smirk.

The fire that sat between them reflected in their eyes as she sized the other up, a powerful need to fight overtaking their senses. It was at that moment that the teapot began to whistle loudly, catching their attention.

"Ya gonna' get that or keep staring like you got something to say?" Ranko asked seemingly mocking him.

Ryoga felt a rush flow throw him, he wanted to fight the girl across from him but eventually came to realize that he was feeling _hungry_ , his stomach beckoning to him with a low rumble. "G-guess I'm hungry…" Ryoga admitted, blushing with a nervous smile as he began pouring their water into their instant ramen cups.

"Ha! Feeling hun-" she paused as her eyes went, her own stomach calling to her loudly enough for Ryoga to get an earful.

"You were saying?" Ryoga smirked as he finished pouring her ramen cup, sitting up a little he handed it over to her.

The redhead took her cup, suppressing a warm laugh with her hand over her mouth until she felt the cup's warm surface touch her bare hands, looking as though she had stubbed her toe, she flinched a little before straightening herself out.

"You okay?" Ryoga gave Ranko a quizzical stare.

"Y-yeah, it's just I-I'm really hungry…" she lied her voice coming out a little strained sounding, _'Did he nuke this thing or what!?'_ she thought frantically trying to keep her pain from being apparent.

"You're really that hungry, huh?" Ryoga blinked as he turned to his side and dug around in his traveling gear.

She brought her cup down near her pants leg and breathed deeply through her nose, _'I'll let it cool… damn it Ryoga, how strong is the fire?'_ she thought begrudgingly as the burning feeling gently went away.

"Here, I have a bag of trail mix…" Ryoga said, tossing her the clear plastic bag filled with assorted nuts and crackers.

"Finally! Thanks man!" she said, taking the bag and undoing the knot that kept it sealed.

"You're welcome; just try not to eat the bag…" Ryoga commented, seeing how she almost tore it with her teeth to open it.

"Yeah-Yeah…" Ranko repeated with a dismissive hand, reaching into the bag and dumping some trail mix into her maw, chewing with her eyes closed as she savored the feel of food once more.

"I'll wait… it doesn't take too long…" Ryoga commented as he looked at his cup and stared at it, his stomach betraying his sentiment as it demanded he provides it sustenance.

"Here!" Ranko said, giving him a heads up as she crammed a whole bunch of trail mix in her mouth before giving the bag a weak knot and tossing it over.

"Thanks…" he smiled as he closed his own eyes and followed Ranko's example.

"It's your food, shouldn't be thankin' me…" Ranko said while still chewing, being very unladylike.

"Alright, I'll get us some chopsticks…" Ryoga said blinking after swallowing and then looking down his backpack, retrieving two pairs of disposable chopsticks. "Here!" Ryoga warned before he threw them.

She caught them effortlessly with one hand and then paused, she looked over to the lost boy and watched as he tore the plastic around his disposable chopsticks, _'I can't wait to see it scorch your tongue…'_ she thought while ripping her sticks out, expecting for Ryoga to learn a harsh lesson.

Instead, he held it with ease and even peeled back the lid entirely to start blowing on noodles about twice he closed his eyes and began to inhale the starchy but delicious soup. Her eye twitched as she then looked at her own cup, reaching down she took it in her hand and felt herself cringe a little, _'W-wait? It's too hot for me but easy for him!? Is there something wrong with me?'_ she thought before taking her utensils and pulling out some steam covered noodles, eyeing them for a second before blowing as much and as quickly as she could before taking a bite. "Hm…" she hummed, narrowing her eyes as this appeared to be relatively fine.

"Don't like it…?" Ryoga wondered given that her look was less than satisfying.

"I do! Sorry, I think I'm just…" Ranko sighed before shaking her head and closing her eyes, _'It's stupid anyway, maybe I'm just allergic to something and brook out…'_ she thought, trying to pass it off as her just being overly sensitive.

"I-I get it, not something you want to talk about with me…" Ryoga said bashfully as he looked down to his ramen and stirred it without really taking it out to cool.

"It's not like that, can we just drop it…?" she asked, looking to him and hoping he would do just that.

"Alright then…" Ryoga said looking her in the eyes, giving a small smile in hopes to liven the mood.

Ranko stared at him until she noticed the little fang poking out from the corner of his mouth, _'Huh, that's kinda' cool lookin' and c-cute…? Maybe? He is a guy and girl's usually like guys so…'_ she thought, somehow finding it hard to admit that, even in her own mind. The reason for that? She wasn't entirely sure. "Thanks…" she said, offering an awkward smile in return.

He nodded his head before going back to eating; they ate in a relatively peaceful silence. For them, it was nice to just sit and eat together. "So, when exactly do you want to fight?" Ryoga asked, chewing and then swallowing his noodles.

"That's a secret…" Ranko replied as she finished blowing her noodles a few times, her eyes closed.

"Really? Going to trick me into another surprise attack?"

"I dunno know…" Ranko said, playing innocently with a rolling of her eyes and a mouth that looked as though it was stifling a laugh.

"I'll make sure to keep my guard up…" Ryoga muttered with an awkward smile.

Eventually, they finished eating and grinned in satisfaction. "I think I'm going to rest up for the night…" Ryoga yawned with his eyes closed; hand over his mouth as his eyes slowly started to close.

"Been a hell of a day…" Ranko commented as she put her cup down to her side as she burped a little.

Ryoga scuffed at her outburst but couldn't help but smile, _'Ranko's the only girl I can just be myself around, this is nice, even if she's kinda' like a jerky guy…'_ he pondered briefly before looking towards the nearest tree and leaping up onto it.

Ranko sighed as she allowed herself to be given the tent this time, she rolled her eyes as she watched him grab onto a branch and then hoist himself onto it, _'This guy needs another tent, finding this Yakusai place is turning out to be a real pain in the ass…'_ she thought as she looked at the tent she had been lent.

She got on her knees and crawled into Ryoga's tent when she looked inside she focused her eyes to see a large sleeping bag. Given who it belonged to, she wasn't too surprised. "Figures… he wasn't kidding about it having enough room for two people…" she commented, envisioning see-through versions of herself and Ryoga in the sleeping bag while Ranko's interpretation clung to his arm.

Slapping herself, she shook her head, _'I-I don't even know who I am! It's not fair to the guy! Geez!'_ she thought to close her eyes."I'm probably tired, y-yeah, that's it…" she mumbled to herself while unbuttoning her shirt and revealing the muscle shirt she wore underneath.

Ryoga was sitting on a thick branch, with his arms crossed over the other, "I wonder how long I can keep this up…?" he asked the stars as he looked to them for guidance. Getting no answer, he sighed deeply, letting his eyes close as he lowered his head.

A bird tilted its head as it looked out into the distance while hanging on a thin branch until the tree beneath vibrated hard enough to frighten it away. Way down near the roots, below the branch the lost boy had been sleeping under, was said lost boy.

"Ah…" Ryoga groaned as he sat up and rubbed his cheek, feeling that he was grinding bits of dirt and pebbles from his face. He lowered his head and began dusting his face off.

Now feeling sore and catching something that smelled of noodles and sweat, he raised his arm and sniffed himself. "Bleh!" he groaned in disgust before sitting up and looking around, spotting his equipment, _'What about Ranko? Is she…?'_ he contemplated before looking at the sky and seeing the sun had yet to completely rise.

Taking a few awkward steps to Ranko's tent he stopped as he blushed and closed his eyes, _'I'm not doing anything wrong, j-just making sure she's still asleep…'_ Ryoga thought as he stood as though he were a soldier being told to stand at the position of attention. "Ranko, you awake?" he whispered as he leaned his ear towards her tent.

A snorting sound was emitted from a soft but familiar voice before sighing contently and ruffling around, most likely some tossing and turning going about.

"…cute," he mumbled softly closing his eyes, he straightening his posture. He went over to his bag before kneeling in front of it and digging around in it.

Raising as though Ranko had come straight back from the dead, she sat up with a slight case of bedhead, smacking her lips a little she yawned loudly before stretching her hands over her head. Her stretching would have to wait, her stomach once again yearned for attention by making its majestic call.

"Hungry…" she groaned with shut eyes, immediately crawling out of her tent to calm down her hunger.

Scratching an itch on her stomach she walked towards the last place she remembered seeing the lost boy, with her head arched back she called out: "Yo! Ryoga! Mind if I get something to chow down before we try fishing or something?" she shouted as she raised one hand to the side of her mouth. Not getting an answer Ranko finally noticed Ryoga wasn't where she saw him last.

"Ryo-?" she began and then looked down to the ground, she noticed an indent on the ground that was roughly Ryoga sized. "Heh… knew that'd happen," she said looking over with a slight chuckle, _'Now where'd he get to?'_ she thought, her head shifting to her left first and then to her right, where she spotted something further up the river.

"Is that a… rope tied to a tree?" she muttered before following the line. She traced its direction and saw that it had gone above a small rock formation. _'What is this? Some trap to catch fish or something? Did Ryoga make it or something?'_ she thought as she used the rope as a way to hoist herself up.

On the other side of the rope, the lost boy had finished splashing some water onto his face, his rope in the water going up the near rocks, "Huh?" he wondered as he felt something jerking at the rope attached to his foot.

"Ryoga!?" Ranko gasped as she climbed the top of the boulder, her eyes landing directly on the lost boy's pelvic region.

"Ranko!?" Ryoga screamed in surprise as he did his best to cover his shame, only to drop that the moment he saw his friend lose her balance and fall into the river he was bathing in. "Ranko!" he cried, forgetting the fact that he was naked he tried to reach out to her.

She emerged from the water, gasping for air but just in range to get front row seats to the show she accidentally intruded upon, not knowing that her friend wasn't the only one giving her a _private_ show.

"R-Ranko your-" Ryoga began but found his voice fading as his nose spewed out blood like a geyser at Yellowstone.

"My? You're-wait!?" she looked down to see that her muscle shirt had gotten so wet that her oversized undershirt was now exposing her bare breasts. "Ah!" she screamed, trying to cover herself only to feel a shift in the water as a blank-eyed Ryoga flopped down above her.

A loud splashing sound echoed throughout the area, scaring away a flock of birds.

An endless darkness surrounded Ryoga's vision, however, his mind did not register anything. His mind could not wander; all was black as if he were unable to think. Gradually, his senses returned to him and the first things that came were the sounds of a crackling fire and some noises from the distant or near wildlife. It was then that his nose caught something, which awoke Ryoga's primitive survival instinct.

"Is that…?" Ryoga sat up and looked at him, realizing he was in his tent, he noticed a few things. First off he wasn't fully dressed and in nothing but a pair of pants, secondly, wasn't he in the river? He would have considered the situation longer but his stomach hit him with a crippling wave of hunger.

From outside the tent, Ranko had been sitting down while stirring the embers of the fire with a stick, her lips pursed as she appeared to be incredibly concentrated on this one simple task. "Should be done in a little…" she mumbled, sounding way too serious for something as keeping the fire lit to cook their fish.

Ranko began to feel bored. Her eyes landed on her stick, once she looked down closer to the shaft she was holding she stared at it for a moment before feeling a blush cross her face. Casually, she threw the stick away but not near anything that could start a fire, one of her eyes twitching. "Huh…?" she swore she heard gasping nearby and came to a stand, swallowing hard and marching over to the tent as her companion came out from it.

"H-Hey Ran-"

Was as far as he could get before feeling Ranko's palm slapped him across the face, "Watch where you're fainting, stupid!" Ranko exclaimed, her cheeks a deep shade of red as she put her hands on her hips.

"It's not like I have any control of that!" Ryoga shouted, defending himself and rubbing his sore cheek.

"That was because after you fainted, you landed on me, ya know how hard it was helping you without lookin'-" Ranko choked as she closed her eyes and wanted to shake the visual from earlier from her mind.

Ryoga's face was much like Ranko's at the moment, embarrassed and shocked, _'She saw... my…'_ he thought, needing a second to absorb this information. "L-Look I'm sorry…" he began but stopped to see that Ranko's eyes had traveled down to his pectorals.

He would have continued to push his apology but saw that after her awkward stare she wasn't having any of it, given how she had just looked away before stormed over to the fire to sit down on a rock, crossing her legs. "Get a shirt on, would ya'!?" Ranko demanded with a slight hitch in her voice, one hand on her hip before plopping her chin in her palm.

Ryoga looked at the back of her head, looking deeply ashamed of the image of Ranko's busty pillows flashing in his mind, _'Don't make things any worse Ryoga… calm down…'_ he thought as he tightened his lips and took a deep breath, going over to his backpack to complete the rest of his outfit.

Nothing could change what had happened earlier, all they could do was eat in silence. Occasionally they'd steal glances but would ultimately part before evading each other's sight.

In hopes of controlling her thoughts the redhead closed her eyes and focused solely on the now-cold roasted fish on a stick she was eating, _'It was an accident, I walked in on him but still…_ ' she thought as remembered how she had dragged him out of the water and onto the ground right next to the river, _'It's normal for a girl to-to look at those… right?'_ she thought nervously as she stopped eating while the incident played out again.

Ryoga sat with his legs spread but firmly planted on the ground, one hand on his knees as the other lazily held his stick with his already half-eaten meal, _'Damn it… what do I say aside from sorry? S-She should have called out to me!'_ he thought to scrunch up his face as his mind wandered back to when he had seen Ranko's breasts; instantly, Ryoga's one free hand jumped up to his mouth and near his nose as he covered his nose.

Luckily for the Lost Boy, Ranko was paying him no mind as she had her own internal struggles to cope with, _'I dun even have many memories to work with and now with t-that-!'_ she thought furiously trying to shake the visual away, slapping the sides of her head.

One thing kept crossing Ryoga's mind, what had she thought of his lower head, not in a sexual sense but it was a matter of manly pride, _'What did she think!? Why did that have to happen!? She isn't laughing… so that's a g-good sign, right?'_ his inner voice asked his conscious mind. "L-Look about what happened, Ranko!" Ryoga began, finding that being left to his thoughts was actually worse than actually not dealing with the issue.

"Save it! Please!" Ranko shouted, warming him with a flustered expression."L-Look… Ryoga…" she sighed deeply right before she began. "Can we just pretend that this didn't happen, 'kay? I don't even know who I am and I don't know what to think about something like…" she was unable to finish, looking away.

To think she'd let this go that easily; the relief that overcame him was enough to make him smile since before the incident. "I understand, we should get back to traveling anyways…"

"Y-yeah, we oughtta try following the current or sumthing'…" Ranko suggested, maintaining her composure.

"Sure…" Ryoga replied, nodding his head.

Ryoga hoisted his backpack up as he turned to the redhead he had come to know, perhaps a little more than he should have but that was of little importance now. They had more pressing matters to attend to. Finding the one place they needed to get to Yakusai.

They began their journey once more, however, and while Ryoga lead, Ranko couldn't help but purse her lips together before lowering her head. "I'm sorry I walked in on you bathing and…"

"O-oh! T-thanks! Same to you…"

"I just gotta' know…" Ranko's eyes looked upwards until rolling around to look at her friend.

Ryoga became as stiff as a piece of two by four, uncertain as to where a conversation about them being naked would get him into, "Y-yeah?"

"Why'd ya' tie your leg to that tree?"

"T-That…" Ryoga paused, taking a second to think, _'Dammit! What do I say? Come on! Think!'_ he thought, cursing his luck internally. "Thing is… I did that because…" he swallowed hard.

"Uh-huh?" Ranko ushered with a nod of her head.

"I… can't swim, so, it was to make sure that the current didn't surprise me…" Ryoga answered with a nervous sweat at the corner of his head.

"H-huh… guess that'd work and I'd be close to…" Ranko said, looking away from Ryoga. Uncertain as to what to say about that, _'Least the guy's cautious…'_ she thought as she went back to looking to the river while walking.

Glad to see that things had returned to normal, Ryoga followed the redhead since they were following the river anyway.

* * *

The Musk castle was located near the base of a tall mountain, and it was surrounded by a town which was in turn split in two by a set of walls. Martial arts masters and male students resided and practiced in the innermost circle, while married men and women resided in the outermost one. This was to keep young men separated from women and thus focused on the art until they finished their training and could find a wife. It had been the way of the Musk Dynasty for generations.

And at that moment a meeting in the palace's elegantly decorated audience hall was taking place, one that would have severe consequences later on…

"You were forced to flee the battle?" An old, wolfish man asked, staring at the two boar trackers currently kneeling in front of him. "That is extremely shameful!"

"Master Sumac, the girl was very crafty and strong, she managed to drop a house on me!" One of the boar trackers said, not daring looking up at the Musk noble.

"My cousin is right, the girl _is_ a surprisingly good fighter and the boy… there's something odd about him. His ki is different from a normal human's," the second tracker provided. "It actually reminded me of…"

"Reminded you of what?" The one called Sumac asked, intrigued by this new information. He was aware of the thief's identity and the importance of what she stole but didn't know she had received external help. This bothered him greatly as she was not known to have any male friends or remaining family. Who was helping her, a suitor perhaps? That would only complicate matters much more and that was something he certainly did not need.

"Of the hunter families in the dynasty," the tracker said, "the big cat families to be precise."

"That's impossible, we would know if one of them were helping her. Besides, all members of the hunting families are here and accounted for, still…"

"What is it, master Sumac?"

"Nothing that you should be concerned with," the old man said. "You are dismissed, for the time being, I'll call you if I need your services again."

Once alone, the old man walked to the large open window in the audience chambers and leaned on the windowsill, surveying the village around the Musk Palace. He knew for a fact no member of the feline families had abandoned the Dynasty recently but he had just recalled an incident. Seven generations ago, a member of the Lion family who disagreed with the training methods of the Musk decided to abandon the village and he was never heard of again.

"Perhaps one of his descendants, but that couldn't be," the man mused as he scratched his chin in thought. "It must be someone else, for sure."

Deciding he would worry about that later he focused on the task at hand, which was finding and retrieving both the girl _and_ the ring. And since the boar trackers had failed once already he wouldn't bother calling them again. For this task, he'd need someone better, and who better than the members of his own family? The Wolf clan produced the best trackers in the Dynasty, after all.

"This should be a good test for my grandson… but I'll ask Mint to take Lime with him, just in case the man helping the girl is really that strong."

* * *

 _Meanwhile, far from there…_

"Well, asking them wasn't productive at all," the woman sighed as she sat next to her companions. She glanced back and shrugged as she noticed how the farmer she had been talking with retreated into his home, obviously not wanting to even see her anymore. This wasn't unusual, though, a few farmers tended to be wary of Joketsuzoku Amazons, and she was already used to it.

"They didn't have any information, I gather?" A second woman asked.

"None," said the first. "It's the fourth farm today and the result was the same: nobody has seen a redheaded teenager around here."

"And we haven't found anything else that could hint at her camping anywhere, it's as if she vanished," said a third Amazon who fumed in clear frustration. "This assignment is impossible!"

"Tell that to Cologne," the first Amazon rejoined, shuddering as she thought of what the powerful elder would do to them if they failed.

"Let's not think about that, where are the others, anyway?" the second Amazon said. "They were supposed to be here already."

"They said they would look for leads down the river, I think it'd be best if we go and meet them there," the first Amazon said.

Deciding that was their best chance, for the time being, the Amazon trio got up and headed for the river near Joketsuzoku, hoping that their friends had been luckier and had good news to deliver.

* * *

 _At the same time, in a different location…_

Mousse sat under a tree, waiting in the shade while Shampoo examined their surroundings, searching for clues that would lead them to where the redhead went. She had asked him to stay there, and as he lacked Shampoo's tracking skills _(since he never needed to or particularly cared about learning how to track people in a forest_ ), he had agreed.

The young martial artist had been working on other means of finding people though, and as he grew more and more bored, decided to practice his new trick a little. Mousse closed his eyes, focusing on Shampoo's ki signature since he knew it well enough and after a few seconds of concentrating, managed to locate her. He estimated she was about twenty steps to his right, very close to a massive tree down the road that he could also somewhat feel. He put on his glasses and looked in that direction, smirking in triumph as he confirmed his assessment had been correct. This ki locating skill his father had taught him would be very useful once he had fully mastered it, and should help him avoid losing his way even without his glasses. All he needed to do was to keep practicing it as much as he could, and he would do that as soon as Shampoo's quest was complete.

It would have been very unfortunate if he had gotten distracted by something else that would force him to drop this particular technique, however. This thought reminded him of the current situation: If this Ranma interloper had been a man when he defeated Shampoo she would have been forced to marry him, and that would not only mean Mousse would have a competitor, it would mean he'd have to stop practicing the ki locating technique in order to focus on getting rid of this hypothetical rival.

' _It's a very good thing she was so upset after being defeated that she decided to see him as a woman instead of as a man,'_ he thought. ' _Otherwise, things could have gotten ugly.'_

Mousse got up and started walking towards Shampoo. He had realized how lucky he'd been and also understood he had been lazy, taking Shampoo for granted for far too long. It was about time he stopped trusting his good fortunes and really started working on his goal of making Shampoo fall in love with him.

"Want something to drink?" He offered as he produced two water bottles from under his oversized sleeves. "It's getting kind of hot, don't you think?"

"Yes, thank you," she said and offered him a polite smile as she accepted the water. "I think I found something here; if I'm correct, _she_ ran in that direction so it should be easy to locate _her_. If all goes well, we'll find _her_ in two days at most."

"Excellent, shall we go, then?"

Shampoo nodded and picked up her backpack. "Yes, the faster we find that annoying _fake_ girl, the sooner I can fight _her_ and end all this mess."

* * *

 _And back in Joketsuzoku…_

Cologne closed the door, locking it and wondering if it was worth doing it. She was convinced the man they kept there was skilled enough to escape if he wanted to and that troubled her a little bit. While she knew for certain she could easily defeat this Genma Saotome, she was also aware he could possibly best the majority of the adult Amazons in the village in combat if he had to, so why was he being so passive about his imprisonment? Was he really that confident his son would rescue him?

" _He certainly seems to be convinced Ranma can do it,_ " the ancient Amazon reflected as she moved through the village. " _Hmm… it doesn't matter; once Shampoo or the others bring the boy back, we will see what to do. It would be best if his Ranma marries my Shampoo, but if that can't be then we must find another way to introduce the Saotome bloodline into the village_ "

Cologne was still thinking about this by the time she arrived home and had started considering that since marriage would probably never be on the table then perhaps other options could be explored. She decided that asking or otherwise convincing the boy to spend a few nights with a willing Amazon his age until the pregnancy was confirmed as a valid, viable option and if that wasn't possible then perhaps the boy's father could provide for an almost as good substitute.

"Ugh… I actually find it difficult to believe there are two or three adult Amazons who truly think this Genma Saotome is attractive enough to pernoctation with him for more than just motives of procreation," the elder muttered with disdain. Still, the chance to add a strong lineage to the village when encountered was almost an imperative for Joketsuzoku, and Cologne had already decided she would not let this opportunity to strengthen the Amazons escape her.

" _But we don't have the herbs needed to prepare the lust potion we would need if things go that far and I hope they won't, but it never hurts to be prepared,_ " the elder thought with solid determination. " _It seems I'll have to call Ginseng. I'm sure his grandchildren can bring me those herbs tomorrow if I ask him now._ "

And so, Cologne sat next to her old rotary phone and called her good friend Ginseng, a wise herbalist who also happened to be Yakusai's current leader…

* * *

To say that the last few days spent traveling down a river was an exciting one? That would be lying in Ranko's book. If she had one it'd be the centered around the frustrating fact that they hadn't made much progress, if at all. Right after they finished their _discussion,_ so to speak, they had remained relatively quiet. That was until the third day where they were still following the river.

Ranko vacantly stared at Ryoga's backpack as she followed him, _"It's been how long since I've met this guy and we're still not near anything!? Geez! Either I'm unlucky or he's lost, if only China wasn't so damn huge…'_ she thought, crossing her arms and humming to herself.

Dipping his head the Lost Boy considered their food situation as he clenched the straps to his sides, _'We're running low on food, might have to start hunting again…'_ Ryoga thought.

Reaching behind her head with both hands Ranko continued walking, humming in annoyance as she saw nothing but forest and the river next to them, _'Maybe I could think about things if I had more memories to work with, maybe I should talk about something…'_ she pondered as she took a deep breath and let out a sigh, still feeling a little awkward about before.

Right now that only thing that was plaguing Ryoga's mind was whether or not Ranko would keep traveling with him if he told her the truth, _'Maybe I should be honest…'_ he thought for a moment before he envisioned the possible outcome.

 _"Ranko, I've been leading us through China while I'm directionally challenged…"_

 _"You lying sack of-!"_

 _"Ranko! Y-you have to understand!"_

 _"What!? That you're some weirdo with a bad sense of direction trying to help by getting me even more lost! I'm outta here! A-And another thing! I wish I never saw you naked!"_

Eaten up by his guilt he had begun to walk vacantly, his anxiety-ridden mind was actually using so much mental energy that his only present functions where to walk and stare vacantly while he fully absorbed this in his overly imaginative daydream. Almost as if he instantly teleported away from Ranko he bashed his forehead against one of the trees near them.

"What!?" Ranko stopped to question what Ryoga was doing, turning back around as she had absent-mindedly continued walking. "How ya' holding up there, pal?" she asked cautiously as she turned around and hunched over to see his face.

"I-I'm f-fine, this is n-nothing!" Ryoga exclaimed, not expecting her to get so close that his hands warded evil.

"It doesn't seem like nothing…" Ranko commented, giving him a questioning gaze.

"Ran-Ranko! Really! It's-" Ryoga's eyes widened as he spotted something in the distance by the way his eyes widened.

"It's what?" Ranko's lifted a brow before following his eyes.

"An Inn!" they both happily cheered as little ways further was a bridge and beyond that was a dirt path that leads to a building that couldn't be mistaken for anything other than an Inn, given the hanging sign just above the door.

"Race ya!" Ranko declared, taking the lead.

"No fair! I've got all our gear!" Ryoga exclaimed, being so delighted they had found some form of civilization, the challenge didn't really upset or annoy him but rather it caused him to smile.

When they reached the inn they could see that it was a good, old, two stories tall building, though, from the looks of it, there weren't many rooms to spare given the overall size of the building. They happened across a sign over a window outside but obviously, neither could read it. Furthermore, the curtained window would have stopped them from peering inside.

Ranko was the first to reach the front of the house, coming to it from the west side of the building as she came to a screeching halt. Her friend coming to a halt shortly after, although perhaps not as abruptly as the redhead.

"And Ranko takes the win!" Ranko cheered.

"Next time we race let me drop the bag…" Ryoga said with a smile and a chuckle.

She paid him no mind and walked up to the front door, though, she paused for a moment. "I just realized sumthin'…"

"Yeah…?" Ranko blinked, a little surprised to see her stop.

"What if no one here can speak Japanese?"

"I hadn't thought of that…" Ryoga agreed, his mouth going slightly agape as he didn't really have a solution to this dilemma.

"Here goes nothing…" Ranko said before reaching for the door handle.

"你好?(Hello?)" An elderly woman in a lavender kimono with a peacock nestled atop a beautiful boutique of flowers for its design theme, her gray hair rolled up into a tight little bun.

"Hey there… do you speak Japanese by any chance?" Ryoga called from over his shoulder as Ranko had just taken a step back.

"Oh! I is knowing little Japanese, we terribly sorry to say but all our guest rooms are taken…" she replied, bowing her head and trying to dismiss the two.

"W-wait! Come on! You don't have anything?" Ranko asked.

"Is you having any yuan?" she asked as she took a step back from the door and place a hand on her chin.

At that moment the two had felt despair overtake them, Ranko looking over her shoulder to the Lost Boy only for him to meet her gaze and shake his head.

"No. I'm sorry, we don't…"

"No yuan?" she hummed and then smiled softly."You two is very lucky! We short on help, so, if you want stay, we need help with repairs around Inn and I is needing one more maid, our other maid get sick…"

"Guess I'm helping with repairs then!" Ranko said almost casually with dead looking fish eyes, flat out refusing to work as a maid.

"You are being too funny!" she exclaimed as she took Ranko's hand and dragged her away.

"I mean it! Come on! I don't wanna'!"

"Is only position! He no wear maid uniform!" she laughed while looking over her shoulder. "Where are manners? I is Lady Chuntao, wait here boy!" she cheerfully shouted before running to the front counter and going behind it to the back room.

"S-So we're starting right now? O-okay… sorry, Ranko!"

"I don't know how Ryoga but this somehow your fault!" Ranko shouted just because she didn't know what to do. "How are you so damn strong!?" Ranko screamed as the door to the back closed.

"Name is different but pretty!" Chuntao commented.

"Have fun…" Ryoga's face had been like a double-sided mask with how quickly he went from nervous, then immediately annoyed looking when hearing her just drop the blame on him.

"Why is you wearing boys pants? Too loose for maids!"

"Wait! No! Lemme' go!" Ranko shrieked from the other side.

Ryoga shook his head with a chuckle, making his way over to a chair in the lobby, dropping his bag in front of it before turning around and dropping himself down. He noticed the very light dragon designs in the room, more specifically the dragon carvings on the support beams, _'I wonder what they call this place? Probably 'The Sleepy Dragon' or something…_ '

* * *

Being pulled into a decorative dragon themed office room with a single filing cabinet like she was a piece of luggage, Ranko seized her struggle once they made it past the front of the metal office table before just allowing herself to be dragged off.

"So are we heading to the changing r-room or what?" the redhead asked before she looked up at the sign above the room they were heading into next, of course, she wasn't able to read it.

"No! You need something very important!" she exclaimed before leaving Ranko into what she could only assume to be an employee washroom before shutting the sliding door behind her.

It took Ranko a whole second to fully understand what Chuntao was subtly hinting at. "Hey!" she screamed turning around and stomping her heel, effectively being told that she stinks.

"Could have just said I needed a bath or sumthing'…" Ranko said only to recall her time with her ramen cups and Ryoga, her mouth dropping open.

"Guess now's as good as any to figure this out… maybe I don't stink as bad as she thinks!" she said almost frightfully feeling as though she were about to break out in a nervous sweat, she looked to the clothes bin right next to her before sighing and lower her head, starting by unbuttoning her shirt.

"When you is done! Maid Uniform be left on bin out door next to chart!" Chuntao called to Ranko before walking over to the office room table and taking a seat on a simple wooden chair with a green silk cushion on top.

"Yeah-Yeah!" Ranko's voice echoed from the washroom as the sound of running water filled the room. She sighed and tested the water. She flinched a little; as she imagined, the water was boiling. She had to experiment a little, but managed to get it cold enough to be tolerable; that done, she proceeded to bathe.

* * *

"你是誰？你不知道我們過夜了嗎?(Who are you? Don't you know we're full for the night?)"

"H-Hey there! I'm sorry but I don't speak Chinese…" Ryoga said, looking away from a raven-haired beauty that had vanished into another room by now.

"Oooh! I is thinking you were Japanese, so, why exactly is you here, boy…?" the medium-sized man in dark brown overalls said as he pulled on his shoulder straps before reaching for his straw hat and tipping it.

The Lost boy appeared relieved to see that he could talk more or less well enough with this man, "Me and my friend you see we're looking for supplies but you can probably tell we're not from here and we don't have any money…"

"Aiya! You is new help? Chuntao hire you?" he asked putting his hands on his lower back.

"Y-Yeah! You know her?"

"Knowing her? She Huan's wife!" he paused and looked up, stroking his long but scruffy looking beard.

"O-Oh! Nice to meet you! I'm Ryoga! I'm here to help with repairs!" Ryoga exclaimed, standing up and bowing his head.

"Good! We needing help! Many repairs to get to, what size overalls you wear?" he questioned, humming to himself while continuing to stroke his chin.

"Overalls?" Ryoga blinked, not really horrified just uncertain.

"No is worrying! Huan is having spare overalls for work!"

"Is ready! Is so pretty!" Chuntao's voice echoed from behind the front counter as a dragging noise was heard.

"H-Hey! Why are you pulling me to the front!?"

"So boyfriend see how lovely you is looking!" Chuntao exclaimed as she looked over her shoulder and saw Ryoga, she then smiled at her husband.

"W-what!? You got the wrong idea!" Ranko exclaimed as she stood as stiff as a board.

Chuntao immediately darted behind Ranko and pushed her forward with her odd amount of strength, "No be shy!"

"R-Ranko?" Ryoga stared as he had when seeing that other girl but to see his tomboy of a friend dressed in a silk Chinese shirt with matching pants, coupled with a frilly apron only enhanced the girl's already attractive qualities.

"Q-quit staring so much…" Ranko urged while blushing, shivering a little felt a chill and crossed her arms to rub the back of her arms.

To Ryoga, it was like staring at a piece of art, the way Ranko's sapphire eyes went along with it all caused him to stutter from how loud the beating in his chest had become."Not bad, it looks g-good on you…" Ryoga lowered his head a little and blushed, clenching his fist trying to not make the girl feel too awkward.

"I know I do…" Ranko commented somewhat playfully, trying to make it seem like a friend messing around with another.

"Ohh…" Chuntao moved away from the two and went over to her husband, leaning her head on his shoulder.

"提醒你一些東西?(Remind you of something?)" he asked, looking down to Chuntao as she looked up to him, giving him a gentle sound before nodding.

Ranko and Ryoga stopped to look at the old couple to ask what they were talking about since neither knew exactly what they said but given the romantic air between the two, they were pretty sure they were somehow the cause of this moment between the elders.

"S-shouldn't we be working?" Ranko crossed her arms then cleared her throat.

"I wouldn't mind getting to work if that's okay…" Ryoga swallowed.

"Oh! We is having to make deal!" Huan exclaimed, bashing the side of his fist into his palm.

"Is right! We no have many yuan right now but we can maybe give supply and place to sleep?" Chuntao asked, smiling as she held her hands together.

"We try to make more yuan to pay you two!" Huan added.

"We be needed in kitchen! Ranko come!" Chuntao exclaimed as she grabbed the redhead by her wrist and began to run off with her, moving so quickly that her feet kicked up a little dust.

"So where do we start?" Ryoga looked at the elderly man, who also watched as his wife dragged Ranko off to work.

"We be starting on roof… but first, we be getting work clothes…"

* * *

From that moment forward both Ranko and Ryoga found themselves at the mercy of their new employers. Ryoga working on replacing the roof shingles as he was dressed in brown denim overalls with one of his yellow sleeveless shirts under it. Opposite to him was Huan as he was hunched over hammering in a roof shingle, nails in his mouth while he made a steady but slow progression.

"Hm…" Ryoga narrowed his eyes as she sat on his knees and raised his hand over the nail he was keeping steady, quickly he brought his hammer down on the nail, moving his hand out of the way as it made contact and then some as the hammerhead went into through the roof, _'Gha! I smashed it through!'_ he thought as he panicked and saw Huan popping his head out up from the other side.

He turned around and put his hands behind his back, conveniently covering the hole as well, putting up a convincing smile for him not to assume anything was wrong before going back to work, much to Ryoga's relief.

* * *

Peeling what felt like way too many potatoes the redhead stood bored in front of a wooden prep table, Chuntao a little further into the room was stirring a pot. Ranko found herself going back and forth various times. "Geez, this took awhile…" Ranko muttered to herself as she pushed some vegetables off her cutting board and into a pot, wiping her brow after.

"Is good job you do!" Chuntao said as she prepared some noodles.

"Mind if I air myself out? I'm sweating…" Ranko asked, using her hand to fan herself.

"Is okay! Hardest part over!" she exclaimed as she dropped some seasoning into noodle bowls.

Ranko bowed her head once and sighed contently, going to hanging her apron on a nearby rack, exiting through the back door.

Ryoga sat with his legs sprawled out, tying his headband back on as he stood up, inspecting his work. "Huh…?" he paused to notice Ranko stepping out from the back and watched as she undid the button to her silk dress.

"So many boiling pots…" she muttered as she took her shirt off, holding it in one hand, stretching her arms up and pushing her chest forward a little to pop her back.

"Is you okay…?" Huan asked quietly as he saw that Ryoga had fallen on his back with a nosebleed.

* * *

After cooking and working for what felt like forever to the two teenagers, they were finally being led to their room by Huan as he carried a lantern to light their way. "Is good days work…"

"Man, that took forever…" Ranko muttered as she tried to keep warm.

"We are working at an Inn…" Ryoga added, shivering ever so slightly.

"You is staying in warehouse, Chuntao leave things for you in warehouse… so you have good night!" Huan said, before digging into his overalls pocket and giving the key to the redhead.

"Yeah… night…" Ranko said as at that precise moment a piece of wood from the side of the building fell off and onto the ground.

"I'm guessing this place will be on the list of things here that need repairs…" Ryoga commented as he sighed and made his way inside, opening the door and stepping in.

The two entered to see a very dirty looking room, filled with spare logs, one big pile of hay and finally a small one person bed that was pressed against the wall. In the center of the room was a light hanging from the ceiling.

"Where did she say she left the stuff?" Ranko asked with her eyes closed, yawning shortly after, hand over her mouth.

"Don't know…" Ryoga muttered with some bags under his eyes as he walked in and looked around; getting far enough in the room that he was able to see his traveling gear behind the pile. "Found it. It's behind this soft hay bed…" Ryoga commented before allowing himself to flop onto it.

"Stop treating me like I'm special, I'm taking the hay…" Ranko muttered as she allowed herself to follow Ryoga's example and flopped face first into the hay as well.

Their argument had been a short one as they had grown tired for the night; soon, sleep's gentle embrace took them.

* * *

Rays of sun poured into the room as the two young martial artists slept. Ranko hadn't budged during her night's slumber but Ryoga had actually turned himself over, resting on his back.

"Mmm…" she hummed in her sleep and found her eyes squinting as she became more aware of her surroundings and the sharp bits of hay that poked at her face. "Ugh…" she groaned, looking around to see that she had fallen asleep on the hay.

A soft snoring sound caught her attention as she found the source, "Ryoga? Hey man… wake up…" she said in a low and tired tone, a yawn accompanying her demand.

His eye twitched while his face tightened, his snores coming to a stop as his eyes fluttered open. "Huh…" he looked around until spotting Ranko.

"Hey there, farmer Ryo…" Ranko gave a groggy looking smile while she laughed lightly.

"What do you-" he tried to ask until he noticed something was bobbing up and down in his mouth, some hay. "Oh…" Ryoga joined Ranko's laughter.

A new day was born and Ranko and Ryoga kept working as they had the day before. It had been relatively uneventful, save for a few mishaps that were dealt with relatively easily. It was as it had been the day before, exhausting and as if to make matters worse it had started raining at about the time the two were supposed to finish working.

"The best way to end the day…" Ranko commented as they reached the front door, drops of cold water bouncing off her head.

"Least this is our last day here," Ryoga said with his eyes practically closed.

"Those two are slave drivers…" Ranko groaned as they reached the same straw bed.

"Night…" Ryoga said before turning around and flopping onto his back.

"Night…" Ranko mumbled before flopping face first onto the pile with Ryoga.

Drifting off to sleep neither noticed the sound of thunder rumbling out in the distance, far too tired to exercise any level of concern or awareness to care. Sometime after the rain outside grew in tempo, clapping loudly and somewhat violently.

Ranko began to stir a little, her eyes squinting while she tried to remain asleep. "Mmm…" she moaned as she gently and tiredly opened her eyes to see that Ryoga had pulled her in to snuggle with him. _'Ryoga… him and me… heh…'_ she thought with a small smile, losing it right after as her face relaxed and her eyes closed again.

Darkness was all that Ryoga's inactive mind could perceive at the moment, that was until he started to wake up, _'Weird… it feels like someone is holding onto to me… but it's not bad…'_ he thought as he opened his eyes only see that his assumption was correct _._

"Oh… it's Ranko, that's nice…" he mumbled before trying to go back to sleep.

It was then that Ryoga's mind flipped the switch on in his brain as he tried to flinch away from her without being noticed.

"My pillow…!" Ranko squinted with a frown until her own mind awoke.

"Ah!" they screamed at the same time.

"I'm sorry! I didn't-" Ranko began and then shook her head, avoiding eye contact as she thought back to earlier, _'That wasn't a dream? Are you kidding me!?'_ she desperately thought.

"I'm the one who should say I'm sorry!" Ryoga offered at nearly the same time as Ranko, not listening entirely as his mind attempted to defend itself, _'Why was she snuggling me? Did I pull her to me in my sleep!?'_ he thought frightfully.

"I'm gonna' go get changed…" Ranko said, with wide eyes as she cleared her throat and stood up, hurriedly dusting her any hay off her Chinese silk dress.

"I'll go after you…" Ryoga said with a hitch in his tone and an ever-present blush.

"Hell of a way to start the day… Ranko's the first girl I've ever cuddled with, but…" Ryoga thought as he fell backward, staring at the ceiling; his mouth went agape with realization and he laughed nervously, _'I got to wake up with a girl in my arms!'_ he thought with a silly looking but happy grin that stayed with him for the rest of the day.

Finally, that afternoon, with the repairs completed. Ryoga and Ranko finally said goodbye to Huan and his wife, returning to the road with both a small amount of Yuan and clear directions on how to arrive at Yakusai.

"All things considered this wasn't so bad," Ryoga said.

"It wasn't, and we even got some money!" Ranko agreed with a pleased grin.

* * *

Her sword broke after blocking a hit from the heavy morningstar her opponent was using, so she quickly discarded her now, useless weapon and prepared to try an aerial attack but didn't get the chance. His left fist impacted her torso and drove the wind out of her, knocking her on her back. Surprisingly, though, the punch hadn't hurt, it just left her windless. As impressive as that was, however, what truly surprised her was that she hadn't seen him move. Just how fast was he?

"…You cheated!" Shampoo complained after sucking in a deep breath, her hand still over her abdomen as she looked up at Mousse. His silhouette was dark as the sun slowly set behind him, and she had to narrow her eyes to make out his face.

"Did I?" He said while he put his weapon back inside his sleeves, "how so?"

"You used a heavier weapon," she said sourly as she got back on her feet. "I am sure you wouldn't win if we fought for real, I promise you that!"

"Perhaps I'll ask you to have a real fight one of these days, then," he countered.

"You would lose in less than a minute," she boasted. "I was holding back, you know?"

"Funny, I was holding back as well," Mousse answered with a defiant smirk. "You'll just have to figure out how much."

Shampoo was too surprised by his claim to think of a response and simply watched as her friend, sometimes suitor, made his way back to their tents to start a fire, which he then used to heat some water. The young Amazon could do nothing but stare for a few seconds, wondering just how strong Mousse really was. If he had been honest and didn't fight all out during their training session, then he clearly outclassed her in both speed and strength, leaving only skill as the area where she felt she was superior to him. Or was she?

' _When did he get so strong?'_ Shampoo thought and decided that he had earned a little more of her respect just then. ' _Still, strong or not, he's truly awful at cooking from what I'm seeing.'_

"Stop, those vegetables won't cook well if you cut them like that," She said, kneeling at his side and taking away the chopping block from him. "If you want to help go and bring more wood while I cook us dinner."

"…Are you sure?" He asked, confused by her offer, as so far they had each cooked their own food. "Why are you doing this?"

"You earned it," she said and then added. "You did give me a good workout back there."

"Oh… well, thank you Shampoo, I really appreciate it." Saying this, Mousse walked to the nearby forest and soon the sound of metal on wood was heard.

' _His family does live right outside the village,'_ she thought as she distractedly stirred the vegetable stew and reached for some dry noodles to add to it. " _And that technically makes Mousse an outsider, so if he challenges me to a fight and he wins I'd have to… marry him._ "

"I think this should be enough to keep the fire going all night," he announced, placing several branches and pieces of wood next to his tent and interrupting Shampoo's trail of thought as he did so.

"Oh… yes, thank you," she said, feeling both a little flustered and thankful for the interruption. She stared at him as he removed his glasses and dried the sweat off his brow with a rag, realizing he wasn't bad looking without those things covering half his face. He was manly, too, or at least close to what she considered manly. Shampoo stirred the soup and frowned, she was thinking of Mousse as being almost handsome now. That was certainly not something she needed, but…

" _Perhaps it isn't that bad, is it?_ " she wondered in contemplative silence.

"It smells really good," he observed as he sat cross-legged to her right. "Thanks for doing this, Shampoo."

"Don't mention it," she said, feeling a little shy all of a sudden. "It's… it's not just for you, this is my dinner, too!"

"I'm still glad you cooked," Mousse said as he adjusted his glasses. "So, where should we go now? We've been at this for days and all the leads we found went pretty much nowhere."

"Yakusai," She said. "It's the only village close to this area and chances are _she_ went there. It's the only logical conclusion."

* * *

"We're all set now," Ryoga announced as he swung his backpack over his shoulder. "Are you ready?"

Ranko, who had been lazily observing the surroundings from a tree branch above him, dropped down when he called. She yawned and stretched her arms above her head as she approached and gave him a nod.

"Took ya long enough, I almost fell asleep up there."

"Well, it would have been faster if you helped," he said with false irritation, feeling now comfortable enough around her to tease her like this.

"But I did help."

"All you did was fold your sleeping bag," he reminded her with a scowl.

"Oh, don't complain, aren't you a big boy?" She asked, though she quickly realized what her words could also mean as she recalled seeing his glorious nude body in the river. She had to lower her face for an instant then, hoping to hide her blushing cheeks from him.

" _Ahem_ … anyway, Ryoga, today is the day we arrive at the Herbalists' village!" She declared ardently to hide the way the certain memory of a certain naked teenager had made her feel. "Ain't that right?"

"Yes, of course, we will!" he agreed with a smile, finding her enthusiasm contagious.

"Excellent, let's go, then!"

* * *

 _A few hours later…_

Ranko felt bored. Sure, she was glad they were making progress and would reach their destination soon, but the conversation had died down between her and Ryoga and she simply wouldn't risk them walking in silence, as she feared that would let her mind wander back to certain events in a certain river. Recalling then what she had done a few days ago, she stopped to pick up a bunch of pebbles from the side of the road.

"What are you going to do with those?" Ryoga asked.

"Something fun, you'll see," she said as she gave him half of the little rocks.

"I fail to see how this is fun."

"They're for a game, you dummy," she said with a smile and pointed at the trees along the road. "I bet you can't hit as many branches as I can! So… wanna play?"

"No, not really," he said, staring at the rocks with an uncertain frown.

"Pleeeease, Ryoga?" She asked getting close and looking at him with glimmering eyes, as she suspected this gesture was something he couldn't resist.

The boy flustered at her innocent display of coquetry and felt his resolve melt. He just couldn't say no if she asked him that way. "...F-fine, I'll… I'll play."

"Yay, thank you!" Ranko smiled openly and started walking again, making sure to stay close to him so she could see when it was his turn. "I'll go first, ok?"

"Be my guest," Ryoga said and looked at her as she shot one of her rocks and flawlessly hit a branch, snapping it in half. He wasn't really paying attention to her remarkable aim, though. He was instead mesmerized by the sound of her voice and the way the sun made her hair shine. She was so pretty… it was almost unreal.

"Your turn," Ranko announced. "I betcha can't do better!"

"Well, let's find out," Ryoga said, then shot and missed, his rock hitting a fat tree, ending up embedded in the bark.

"Wow… that's… that's actually very impressive," the redhead admitted. "But we did agree to hit branches so that one doesn't count!"

"Meh… I did hit the tree, though. Fine, I'll hit a branch next time!"

"You better, I'd feel bad beatin' ya if you can't," she said, shooting a second pebble and snapping another twig. "I never miss, you know?"

A few minutes later, the score was fourteen to five in Ranko's favor. As she had predicted she hadn't missed once, while Ryoga had proved accuracy was not exactly his forte. He _had_ managed to hit all the trees, but little else.

"I think we should stop, there's no way you can tie the game," she said, dropping the remaining rocks she still carried. "I'm surprised you hit five, though."

"I could have done better," he sighed. "I'm more used to hit moving targets."

"What do you mean?" Ranko asked feeling honestly interested in his words. She really couldn't help it, she was naturally curious and Ryoga had turned out to be not just a good friend, but a truly fascinating person. She actually didn't mind learning more about him.

"I've had to hunt a few times before when I ran out of food," he explained absentmindedly, tossing the pebbles to the side while dusting his hands. "Animals don't normally stand still too long for you to hit them so I use my bandanas like boomerangs to intercept them, but you have to calculate where they'll jump or run. It's different from trying to hit something that doesn't move."

"So that's how you hunt," she said staring at him, paying attention to his arms and hands and finally settling back on his face again.

" _He… he's so reliable, isn't he?_ " She thought to admire him discreetly. " _He always sets up camp. He got us those jobs back at the inn and was able to learn how to fix that roof and help with other chores so quickly. I was lucky I met him and… I wonder if other girls would think he's handsome. Wait… what am I thinking, now?_ "

"Ranko, look at this!" Ryoga, who walked a few steps ahead and had focused on keeping his eyes on the road to avoid stepping out of it, was now standing in front of a wooden sign, and he appeared to be very happy.

"What?" she blinked, shook her head to clear it from thoughts concerning him and stared at the sign. The redhead felt a smile coming, for the sign said this:

[Yakusai, 10 Km. Ahead]

He chuckled and smiled at her, feeling pleased that once again he had managed to make her happy. It seemed he was on a roll, doing the right things one after the other that day.

"That's very close; we can get there this afternoon if we hurry!"

"I know; we can finally find you a cure and then we'll go find your family."

"Yeah! About time!" Ranko grinned. "I can't wait to remember everything about my past! I'll know who my mom and dad are and if I have brothers or sisters, and I'll remember if I have a…"

"A what?" Ryoga asked, truly interested, wondering why she suddenly stopped.

"A… a home… here, in China," she said after realizing she was about to mention if she had a boyfriend or a special person; but for some reason she didn't really want to mention that to Ryoga so she instead told him something else she had also wondered about: if she spoke Japanese and knew zero Chinese, then why was she here in China? She really wanted to know that, too.

"Maybe, or maybe you and your parents were on vacation or on a training trip, who knows?" Ryoga mused. "Anyway, we'll know for sure soon enough, right?"

"Right!"

* * *

 _Two hours later…_

"The town must be just on the other side of this hill," Ranko deduced, stopping to rest a bit. "And we can't get there fast enough!"

Ryoga nodded and waited until she started walking again to follow her since that was the only way had had of not getting lost. He was wondering if the herbalists in Yakusai would have something to cure his horrid sense of direction, and if they did, he hoped it wasn't expensive because he was planning on paying for Ranko's medicine before thinking on a cure for him.

Ranko was anxious and just couldn't wait for them to reach the village. Her thoughts were similar to Ryoga's and she was currently hoping the money she'd earned working in the inn would be enough. She had gotten a few good tips from some guests, but maybe the medicine would be too expensive. She really hoped it wasn't.

They reached the top and she looked ahead with a satisfied smirk. Just as she had announced, Yakusai was down there, waiting for them. It took days, but she would finally have a cure. She was hoping that with this she could locate her mother; Ranko just knew her mom must be worried sick about her. She couldn't explain why, but she felt more pressed to find her mother than her father, though she reasoned that was because she was closer to her than to her dad.

"We be too, too lucky!" A voice announced right behind the redhead. A voice she didn't really want to hear.

Ranko quickly looked back and found, as she expected, the blue-haired Amazon from a few days before. But she wasn't alone; behind her, a tall teenager wearing glasses and a strange robe with oversized sleeves stood. Great, she had brought her boyfriend with her to lend a hand, just what she didn't need!

"Shampoo knew you come here!" The Amazon grinned. "This time you be defeated!"

"I assume this is that violent girl you told me about?" Ryoga said reaching for his umbrella, preparing to fight in case things came to that.

"Yes, she's the one," Ranko confirmed. "But now I'm ready!"

"Oh, we be seeing!" The Amazon laughed. "This time you no escape!"

"I don' wanna fight you," Ranko said, keeping her guard up. "I just wanna go to Yakusai, but if ya get in m'way then you'll be sorry!"

"Shampoo no rest until you is defeated!" The Amazon swore. "We is fighting now!"

"She's not alone anymore," Ryoga interrupted, much to Ranko's annoyance, and stood between the two girls. "If you want a duel, then at least have the decency to wait until Ranko is cured before you present her a formal challenge."

"You is lying, she no sick!" Shampoo spat. "Move, umbrella-boy, or I move!"

"I suggest you let the ladies fight," Mousse intervened then, also taking a step forward. He kept his hands under his sleeves and his eyes fixed on the other boy.

"What if I don't?" Ryoga challenged.

"Then I'm afraid I'll have to make sure you don't interfere with Joketsuzoku business."

"And I don't need you to butt in on this!" Ranko said, slapping Ryoga's shoulder so he'd stepped aside. "She surprised me before, but I'm sure I can kick her butt!"

"Less talk, more fight!" Shampoo exclaimed and producing a heavy pair of chúi, she dashed at Ranko with the intention of smashing her into a pulp.

"Fine by me!" the redhead said, dodging the Amazon's first strike with a quick spin she effortlessly followed with a chop aimed at the heavy mace Shampoo had tried to crush her with.

Ranko's counterattack proved successful, as she managed to force Shampoo drop one of her maces. Unfortunately, this only made the angry Amazon redouble her efforts, trying harder and harder to hit the evasive redhead.

"Stop moving!" Shampoo shouted, frustrated by her opponent's superior dodging abilities. "Fight serious, you!"

' _Wait, was she always so slow?'_ Ranko wondered sidestepping another attack, swiftly avoiding the heavy mace and noticing how easy it seemed to anticipate every movement the Amazon attempted. ' _No, she's not slow. I am faster.'_

Infuriated by her lack of success and understanding she was not going to hit her target like this, Shampoo decided to change strategies and tossed her chúi at the aggravating redhead, forcing her to duck, which was just what she wanted. Taking advantage of this she dashed under her adversary's defenses and with a quick spin managed to slam her leg on the redhead's torso, sending her tumbling to the other side of the road.

"Ranko, no!" Ryoga shouted, taking a step towards his friend, but Mousse quickly blocked his path.

"I told you, don't interfere. If you do, there will be consequences," he warned.

"Get out of the way, idiot!" Ryoga growled and tried shoving Mousse to the side, only to be hit with an iron ball in the chest. The surprise attack was strong enough to floor him, something that convinced him to take his opponent seriously.

"Idiot? I am Mousse, a master of the hidden weapons!" he stated, smirking at his fallen adversary as he retrieved his iron ball. "Now stay out of this or you'll get hurt!"

"The only one getting hurt here will be you!" the young Hibiki swore, jumping to his feet and throwing several punches at Mousse that hit nothing but air. Surprised by this, Ryoga paused to consider his strategy while staring at his rival, finding it difficult to believe there could be someone around their age faster than Ranko.

"Don't make empty threats!" Mousse said as he unleashed a barrage of chains with the intention of restraining Ryoga until the girls had finished fighting.

"Ryoga Hibiki never makes empty threats!" he announced and leaped over the incoming chains, raising his umbrella and swinging it as he descended, aiming to flatten Mousse so he could assist Ranko.

Mousse, who had anticipated this, dropped the chains and pulled out a pair of large swords from his sleeves, bringing them up to block the attack; what he did not anticipate, however, was how strong Ryoga was, and while he did catch the umbrella between his blades, it didn't do him any good. His steel shattered on impact and Ryoga's weapon smashed Mousse straight in the face, effectively knocking him out in one hit.

In the meantime, Shampoo, who trusted Mousse would keep the fake girl's friend from interfering, resumed her attack after sparing an instant to look at how the fight between the boys was going. Feeling confident, she decided to end things with a jumping kick aimed at the redhead's face.

Ranko regained her breath fairly quickly and was back on her guard in only a couple of seconds. She threw a glance behind Shampoo and noticed Ryoga was now occupied dealing with the Amazon's boyfriend so that meant he wouldn't get in the way. She liked that, it meant she would be able to fight on her terms. That was when her blue-haired adversary jumped in her direction.

' _Fool, that's not gonna work,'_ Ranko thought, and feeling certain she could outmaneuver Shampoo in aerial combat, she too jumped in her direction.

Ranko had no trouble calculating trajectories and intercepted the Amazon just as she was at the peak of her jump and before she extended her leg. Not giving Shampoo the chance to defend, Ranko grabbed her by the shoulders and used this to push herself up, violently slamming her right knee into the Amazon's face as she did so. The end result was simple, Ranko landed perfectly on her feet, while Shampoo fell unconscious to the ground.

"Hah! I knew I could win!" Ranko boasted with a grin, looking back at her defeated adversary. She then heard the sound of something breaking and turned right, just in time to see Ryoga defeating the Amazon's boyfriend. "Not too shabby, Ryoga..."

"Never mind that," he said, looking at her with worry in his eyes. "Are you hurt?"

"Nah, she just got a bit lucky, I'm good," Ranko said standing straight to prove it. "And you?"

"I'm alright. He was very fast but not so strong," Ryoga explained. "You know, Ranko? I thought these guys would be stronger."

"Yeah, me too," she frowned. "I wonder why I thought she was so scary before."

"Probably has to do with your amnesia," he theorized.

"Prob'ly," she agreed, crouching so she could look at the defeated Amazon. "I kinda feel bad leavin' them here'n the middle of the road like this."

"We can move them over there under that tree," Ryoga said after looking around and noticing two large backpacks. "It seems they left their gear there."

"Good idea, let's do that," she said but then frowned when Ryoga moved in to pick up Shampoo, something that made her cringe in a way that really bothered her even if she couldn't really understand why. "What the hell are you doing, you idiot?"

"I thought we were going to move them?" He asked, straightening and wondering why Ranko seemed so upset. "I'll carry her first and then…"

"You go and carry _that_ guy!" She interrupted, staring at him with an angry frown. "Geez, why you hafta go and try ta pick _her_ up? Girls don't like men they don't know grabbing them and stuff!"

"Oh…" Ryoga scratched the back of his head and then nodded. "I guess you're right. I'm sorry. I'll let you carry her."

"Yeah, you better," Ranko huffed, arms crossed as she looked how he picked Mousse up and started walking left instead of right. "Hey, Ryo!"

"What?"

"The other way?" She said, pointing at the correct spot where the two Amazons had left their bags.

"Oh, sorry, I was distracted," he said, chuckling nervously, turning around and walking in the right direction, making sure the backpacks in question never left his sight.

Ranko sighed, wondering why she'd felt so _upset_ when she saw Ryoga was about to pick up Shampoo. Something about him holding the other girl bothered her, and she couldn't figure out what it was. Was it… jealousy?

' _Nah, that's just stupid. I am_ _ **not**_ _jealous!'_ she thought as she carried the unconscious Amazon to the side of the road. ' _That's impossible.'_

"Think they'll be alright here?" Ryoga asked.

"Uh? Why wouldn't they?"

"Someone could come and steal their things, or something."

Mousse and Shampoo groaned before moving a little.

"Seems ta me they'll be fine," Ranko said. She eyed Ryoga and wondered if he was worried about the Amazon, an idea she found made her feel sick.

"Good, I think we should…"

"We have to go, Ryoga."

"But… why?"

"There's no need for us ta stay here!" Ranko said with a clearly upset tone. "If we do they'll try ta fight us again and I don' wanna waste time!"

"That may be so, but…"

"Ugh, fine, stay here if you want, I'm going to Yakusai!" She said and with an angry huff, started marching in the direction of the Herbalist village.

Ryoga blinked, confused by his friend's behavior and wondering what he should do. If he stayed chances were he wouldn't be able to find Ranko again and he really didn't want that. He had promised he'd help her and that was still his main priority. Feeling a little bit ashamed of abandoning Mousse and Shampoo in this condition, but pressed by his previous commitment to Ranko, the young Hibiki hurried to her side.

* * *

 _A few minutes later…_

Mousse shook his head to clear his thoughts. Last he remembered he had been fighting a very strong man with a very potent and quite unusual ki signature. Struggling to his feet, he noticed then Shampoo was still unconscious, but her breathing was even and she moved her legs and arms from time to time, meaning she would be awake soon.

"Ryoga Hibiki, huh?" Mousse muttered as reached for his spare glasses. "What an interesting person… I wonder if he's related to _them_."

"What… what happened?"

He turned and kneeled to help Shampoo sit up. "We lost."

"I can see that," she said with an angry frown. "I don't like it."

"I don't like it either," he admitted.

"Bah… it doesn't matter. I have friends in Yakusai," Shampoo recalled with a mischievous grin. "We'll get them there."

* * *

 **DaisukiFox:** That's the chapter folks! Looks like Ranma and Ryoga are getting closer! I wonder if Ryoga will ever find the one he's looking for? Oh, wait... XD lolz

 **Dr. Facer:** Shampoo has a real talent to make other girls jealous, doesn't she? She manages to do that even in her sleep! There are more Ranko and Ryoga to come next chapter, plus a bit more pieces of the puzzle involving the Musk Dynasty as well. Thanks for reading and hope to see you next episode!

 _ **Prescribing fluff from the Doctor~**_

 _ **Dr~Fox**_


	4. Chapter 4

Dr Facer: Welcome to the long-delayed chapter 4 of Lost Together, thank you for waiting so long for it, I hope you enjoy reading it.

Daisuki: This one was really tough for me to write as it felt so out of my element. I feel that I got pretty into it and hope you guys think we did well!

Disclaimer: We do not own Ranma 1/2! Ranma 1/2 is owned by Rumiko Takahashi and Viz Media, please support the official release!

* * *

"Are you sure your nose got that woman's scent?" Lime inquired as he stood with his arms crossed over his broad chest, looking down at the burnt rubble that was once a home.

"I'm trying but there are a lotta' scents here," Mint replied as he then raised his head and began sniffing the air around the piles of scorched lumber and burnt pieces of brick. "It's no use, the ash and rubble make it too confusing… let's go down the road."

"Well, if you think it'll help," Lime agreed as he followed his small friend into a road that went out of the abandoned farm.

"Do you remember what else those boar trackers said?" Mint asked while sniffing with his eyes closed.

"Uh..." Lime paused as he took the time to think, now looking up and away from Mint. "I think that one guy said something about 'that woman' getting herself a man to travel with..."

"Oh yeah..." Mint paused and rolled his eyes up to think it over. "Didn't that tracker say he had some pretty familiar looking fangs too?"

"He said the guy that hit him was way stronger than any human he's ever met, took a punch straight to the face and into a tree..."

"Hmm...?" Mint stopped his _nosing_ around to see why his friend had paused so abruptly.

"We need to look for a tree that's toppled over!" Lime exclaimed without any further context as he had just blurted out whatever came to mind at that moment.

"There's trees everywhere, Lime…"

"No! There's a man with that woman, right?"

"Oh! We find the tree; we find the man's scent to get to the woman!" Mint declared with a look of glee. 'So I look for the smell of a man _and_ a woman!' he closed his eyes and began searching for two distinct smells.

His large jungle cat friend followed behind as Mint began to move down the road a little faster. "So...?" he prodded.

"I think I got their scent..." Mint muttered with a serious expression as he began to move while sniffing the air.

"That means we can get closer to actually seeing a woman! Wait… that reminds me Lord Herb said that without the ring that woman stole he won't be able to ascend the throne…" Lime remembered as he felt a sour frown cross his tiger-like scowl.

"Yeah, but he said we shouldn't say that out loud so don't mention it again, Lime… oh, say… do you think Lord Herb would be alright if we saw the things on this thief's chest?" Mint wondered aloud, looking up at the sky.

"You mean those things they call... breasts, I think..."

"Really? I thought they were a father on their chests..."

"A father? I don't think so, why would a father be in a chest?"

"Hmm... you're probably right..." Mint concluded as he led them into a clearing.

"I wonder if breasts have their own special scent." Lime wondered as he put his closed palm near his mouth before seeing that his friend had caught the scent.

"I got something here!" Mint announced as he dropped on all fours to better sniff the ground. "This is probably where they fought!" he continued, closing his eyes to better attune his focus on the smells.

Lime nodded his head and decided to look around, he noticed that the area they were in had been cleared as though someone had taken a large knife to the surrounding forestry, 'Not a bad set up...' he thought.

"I found the tree! Lime! They were here!" Mint caught sight of it and scurried over to the once rooted, stationary giant.

"Then's let's hurry!" Lime shouted as he gripped the shoulder straps of his large backpack with traveling supplies, delighted to know that they were at least on the right track to completing their mission.

"Our first time seeing a woman!" Mint shouted, sounding quite cheerful.

* * *

"You know, this town is not what I expected," Ranko said as she walked, hands on her back while she looked left and right. They had entered the town not too long ago and were looking at all the stores on both sides of the street with a mix of hope and mistrust.

The redhead wasn't feeling as optimistic as before, true, but she remained enthusiastic about finding a cure here, while her companion seemed lost in thought as he tried to stay as close to her as he could. Not that she disliked it, though. Ranko had to admit that she rather have Ryoga near her than seeing him waste his time with purple haired, crazy girls like that stupid amazon from earlier.

"…'Cause he's said he's gonna help me first, didn't he?" Ranko thought, discreetly looking to her left to make sure Ryoga was still there, feeling strangely relaxed seeing that he was.

The two continued walking through the village's main street and for the most part all they could see were stores full of roots, bottles, flasks, and jars filled to the brim with different concoctions, containers and bags of strange powders and seeds and plants in pots that rested on boards and tables all set neatly in some stores or disorderly in others. The smells that filled the street were a mixture of sweet and sour depending on the store, some were perfume like while others so spicy it irritated their nostrils. If anything, the town completely honored its reputation as an herbalist village.

It was unfortunate, then, that all signs they had seen hanging in the shops so far were in Chinese, and that none of the vendors appeared to be fluent in Japanese. This was slowly frustrating them since Ranko couldn't speak any Chinese and Ryoga's was so weak he couldn't really ask for what they wanted properly.

And busy as they were trying to find someone who could understand Japanese, they didn't notice the old man who had started following them shortly after they entered the town. He had kept his distance to avoid suspicion, and the many people who came and went along the main street helped him remain unnoticed. The shady individual twisted his thin, chin long mustache as he walked, wondering just how a simple teenage girl could have caused so much trouble to Cologne and the Amazons. Well, he would find out about it soon, all he had to do was to keep close to the teenagers and wait for a chance to execute one of the few plans he had prepared to deal with them. In the meantime, he simply stopped and leaned on a wall, smoking from his pipe as he watched how the girl and his friend stopped a random person, trying to ask him questions.

"Not much, only basic?" the fat merchant said after Ryoga had asked him, in terrible Chinese, if he spoke Japanese. The man hooked his fingers around his belt as he strained to understand what the children in front of him wanted. He had to stifle a laugh as he saw how the redheaded girl, who was actually very pretty, went out of her way to correct and interrupt her friend every other word. "Oh, shop with Japanese speak owner! Yes, yes, left next corner, you find that!"

"Excellent, thank you very much, mister!" Ranko said and waved her hand as she dragged Ryoga in the direction he had pointed them to. She was now feeling relieved that they would find bilingual people here, it would make finding the medicine she needed much easier.

"Yeah, thank you very much!" Ryoga managed, hastening his pace so he wouldn't trip as Ranko started sprinting down the street.

It didn't take them long to enter the lateral street they had been told about, and just as they were promised, several signs in the stores here had small signs indicating Japanese was spoken. Ranko counted quickly and sighed in relief to see there were twelve shops that had bilingual service; surely one of them had a cure for her amnesia and if they didn't, she trusted they may even offer to get it for her if she asked.

"Alright!" Ranko grinned. "Let's ask around!"

"Sure, let's try the first store on the other side of the street," he suggested. "It looks well stocked."

"Yep, it does look good."

 _But a few minutes later…_

"You've got to be kidding me…" muttered Ranko, sitting on a fountain, her elbows on her knees and her face low, her expression was downcast, and it was easy to see she wasn't feeling that great anymore. Ryoga was sitting next to her, and one look at the boy was all it took to notice he felt as disappointed as his redheaded friend.

They had asked all the stores and the results hadn't been very good. While they had found what they wanted, the prices of the medicines they needed were prohibitive. Ranko's amnesia cure was priced at triple the money they had between the two, and she had also secretly asked about a cure for whatever it was that made it so she couldn't touch hot water, but that had also been way above her budget.

Ryoga, on his part, had taken advantage of a few instances when Ranko was distracted to ask for something that could help him with his sense of direction, but the medicine was not only too pricey, its effects lasted only for a few hours and he would have to consume it for the rest of his life, something he didn't think he could afford, so he was instead thinking of eventually buying as much of it as he could and use it only for emergencies. Problem was, he didn't have enough money to pay for it, or to help Ranko pay for her own medicine.

"Man, being short on money sucks…" he thought sourly.

"I guess not everything could go well," Ranko lamented, straightened and then swung her feet back and forth, "stupid merchants and their stupidly high prices!"

"We…" Ryoga cleared his throat and then quickly added. "We can try to find a job here in town until we save enough money for what we need… it's what I always do when I need to buy something."

"Ugh… another job?" Ranko asked, not very enthusiastic about the idea. She still remembered her experience with the lady from the inn and feared she would end up working for yet another slave driver.

"Well, I don't see what other options we have," Ryoga said.

"You two children seem to be in need of help," a voice said then, forcing the teenagers to look up.

In front of them was a tall, very thin old man who held a pipe in one hand and twisted the left tip of his rather long mustache with the other. He wore plain white and yellow clothes and a rather odd brown hat. The man gave an air of ancient wisdom except for one thing that almost made Ranko chuckle: his white eyebrows were long, long enough to reach the sides of his face.

"And who may you be, mister?" Ryoga asked.

"I'm called Ginseng," the man said with a toothy smile. "I own the best and biggest shop in town. I bet you couldn't find what you needed in these second-rate stores. What do you need? I'm sure I have it."

"We found it," Ranko said. "Too expensive."

Ginseng rose one of his long, long eyebrows and Ryoga clarified naming the price of the amnesia medicine, stating that other things they asked about were very costly as well.

"We don't have enough to pay for it," the Lost Boy said. "We didn't expect it to be so expensive."

"Ah… yes, good medicine can be," Ginseng nodded. "How much money do you have?"

Ranko named the amount of Yuan they carried.

"That won't get you much," the old man said and then smiled, this was actually good for him and would make things much easier. He'd be able to deliver these kids to Cologne sooner than he thought. "I have an offer for you, children."

"A job?" The redhead asked. "Doin' what?"

"Well, I resupplied yesterday, and I have a lot of new medicine in my shop and the storeroom. My sons are not in town right now and…," Ginseng began while he put his pipe in his mouth to give it a long and hard puff. "There's nobody to help me put it all in order, and my rheumatism is acting up. If you help me, I'd sell you that amnesia medicine with a large discount… and if you do a good job I may even give it to you for free. So… interested?"

Ryoga and Ranko eyed each other and while the young Hibiki seemed to be a bit cautious Ranko, who for some reason felt she had to grab this chance and worry about the implications later, jumped to her feet and quickly shook the old man's hand.

"Deal!" she smiled, feeling glad things were looking better now. "Lead the way, mister!"

* * *

"What's this supposed ta be?" Ranko wondered, showing Ryoga a flask full of orange powder. The label was in Chinese so she had no idea what it was inside the container.

"I don't know, but you should leave it alone," the Lost Boy warned, this was the fifth time Ranko had interrupted him to ask him if he knew what something was. He figured she was doing that because she was bored and he couldn't blame her; they had been moving jars, flasks, bags, leaves, branches, seeds, dried fruits, roots and many other implements from the storeroom to the actual shop and then putting them in order according to Ginseng's instructions for what it felt like hours.

"Meh… what if it's what we need?" She asked, opening the flask and sniffing the powder inside it, an action she immediately regretted. "Gah… this stinks!"

"Be glad that's all it did," Ryoga chuckled. "Some of the things here could hurt you for real."

"I know… I'm just tired of this," Ranko sighed. "At least we're about ta finish."

"Yeah, it's been a very tedious two hours," he agreed while putting several bottles and bags of seeds in a basket, which he started carrying towards the shop. It was a good thing there was only one exit from the storeroom and that it took him behind the shop's counter, as it had helped Ryoga work without worrying about getting lost. Once he had put the medicines in their proper place, their work would be complete and they could finally buy Ranko's medicine.

"And then she'll remember who she is and where her family is," the young Hibiki thought then, feeling a little uncertain about what would happen once Ranko recovered her memories. Would she declare she could go find her parents on her own and leave him? Would she think he was odd? What if she forgot about him or if her personality changed? Ryoga took in a deep breath to drive those depressing thoughts away. Whatever happened, it was something beyond his control, so all he could do was hope she'd agree to let him help her find her family. "And if she has a boyfriend? She's so pretty…! Of course, she has one, it's impossible that she doesn't have one."

Ryoga looked back at Ranko, who was following him. She smiled at him and showed him the basket she carried, it was also full of medicine. He smiled back and turned to look at Ginseng. The idea that she had a boyfriend somewhere stayed with Ryoga, however, and it was making him feel increasingly worried, to the point he hoped they wouldn't get the medicine, but he rushed to squash that thought as soon as it appeared. She was counting on him and those thoughts were dishonorable.

"Thank you for clearing the storeroom and organizing the store," Ginseng said once Ranko and Ryoga completed that second task. "You did such good job, children, that I'll give you the amnesia cure for free. Wait here, I'm now going to give you what you earned."

"Thank you, sir," Ryoga said and bowed respectfully while Ranko simply grinned, obviously too happy the work was done and she would finally get her medicine.

"Don't thank me," the old man said and headed to the back of the store. "I'll be back in a minute, please wait here."

"Ya hear, Ryo? We got it for free! For _FREE_!" Ranko told him with a smile so bright it was almost blinding. The redhead was literally bouncing in anticipation, and the only reason why she didn't hug Ryoga was that the thought reminded her of that incident by the river. She filed that memory away quickly enough, however, she was simply too happy to think of anything else.

"Yeah… I'm very happy for you, Ranko," Ryoga said, he returned her smile, but he wasn't as enthusiastic about the whole thing as she was. The doubts he had dismissed earlier had returned and were filling him with doubt. Would he lose Ranko once she recovered her memories?

She chuckled and leaned on the counter, sighing and closing her eyes, feeling truly joyful at the idea of finally remembering her family. She wondered how his parents were and how they looked; she figured both her mom and dad were attractive; it was the only way to explain her good looks. She also wondered if she had siblings. She kind of hoped she had a younger sister or an older brother, she thought having a brother to spar with and a sister to scheme things with would be cool.

A few minutes passed, and Ranko hoping to combat the anxiety she was starting to feel, started looking around the shop while they waited, trying to read the labels on the bottles at first and then simply staring at the weird plants in a corner shelve. One of them even looked like a person screaming! It disgusted her a little, so she quickly moved to another shelf, this one full of different balms and creams. She grabbed one and opened it after looking at the drawing on the label. It seemed to be something to help with muscle pain and it didn't smell bad, which was a change all things considered.

"I wonder if my mom or dad use something like this?" she wondered, placing a balm back on the shelf. "I can't believe I'll remember everything, at last, I can't wait!"

"Do you smell smoke? I think something's burning," Ryoga said then rising from the stool where he'd been sitting. "Yes… I do smell smoke! And also something else…"

"Hm… now that ya mention it…" Ranko began, but couldn't continue for her body started feeling very heavy and stiff. She tried to take a step, but fell on her back and couldn't get up. Her whole body felt like a sack of rocks!

"Ranko, what's wrooong…" just as the redhead, Ryoga also experienced the same stiffening and while it took longer for him to be completely affected, he too fell flat on his side and no matter how much he struggled he couldn't move an inch, all he could do was blink.

It was only when the two were completely paralyzed that Ginseng returned to the shop, with two men walking behind him. The old herbalist had a white surgical mask on and held a candle holder in his right hand, where a thick red candle was lit and spreading a faint colored smoke that filled the whole place with an odd smell. "You are very strong, my boy. For a moment there I thought we would have to do something extra to subdue you."

Ryoga and Ranko, unable to even groan, focused instead on glaring angrily at Ginseng.

"Don't worry, my paralyzing scent will simply keep you from escaping my shop until someone else comes for you," Ginseng stated as he signaled the other men to approach, they also wore white masks to remain safe from the scent's paralyzing effects. "Take them to the storeroom."

"Of course, dad," said one of the men as he picked Ryoga up.

"Consider it done, father," said the other while he reached for Ranko.

* * *

Mousse, hands hidden under his sleeves, walked slowly behind Shampoo. He wasn't really paying attention to what she was saying since she was telling him about how much she disliked the Herbalist village thanks to the many problems she'd had during the years with a pair of twins that lived here. The only reason why the boy had tuned Shampoo out was that he had heard this tale many times before and knew quite well of the bitter rivalry between his purple-haired friend and the herbalist twins, Pink and Link.

All Mousse hoped for was that they didn't run into the twins, as he didn't feel like waiting until the three teenage girls finished trading insults the way they usually did. The only positive he could see, however, was that thinking about Pink and Link had distracted Shampoo enough that she had stopped grousing about their recent defeat at the hands of that redhead and her friend, something that Mousse was still mulling over.

Unfortunately, Pink and Link walked around the corner just then, almost bumping face-first on Shampoo.

"Hey! Watch it, if you please?" Pink, the twin with the kanji for poison on her red chest plate demanded.

"Agreed, you're very careless," Link, the other twin who had the kanji for medicine on her blue chest plate seconded.

"And you're both very stupid!" Shampoo stated with a scowl.

"What, you wanna go at it?" Pink asked while giving Shampoo the finger. "We're getting even with you right now!"

"Pink, I think you shouldn't do this so harshly, let's plan something first if you please?" Link suggested.

"You plan to poison me again, you pair of plant-witches?" Shampoo accused. "You've been doing that since we were three!"

"And you've been punching us since then!" Both twins countered. "It's your fault we do that!"

"My fault? Did you forget who…?" Shampoo took then a deep breath. "No, I have more important things to do, I can't waste time with you."

"Does that mean you won't hit us a hundred times like usual?" Link asked, sounding hopeful.

"I don't trust her," Pink said.

"No, I won't punch you a hundred times," Shampoo promised. "I'll just kick you hard once!"

And before the twins could react, the angry Amazon punted the twins straight into a wall, where they crashed loudly and so hard they left severe cracks on it as they comically slid down, unconscious, to the ground.

"I better not see you again while I'm here!" Shampoo warned as she walked past the unmoving forms of Pink and Link.

"I believe they didn't hear you," Mousse observed.

"I don't care," Shampoo answered with an angry huff.

"Yeah, I can see that," he said. "Anyway, would you like to go eat something before we visit the village's elder? I'm starving so…"

Shampoo, who was also hungry herself, considered Mousse words and decided that since she would be arriving uninvited, it didn't matter much if she took a few minutes to eat. Besides, she was certain the redhead and her friend was still in town, and maybe eating as well; if they were lucky they may even find them in one of the town's restaurants!

"Well?"

"Yeah, let's go do that," she agreed, hoping they would run into that annoying, red-haired pest.

 _Not too long after that…_

The house was right in the middle of Yakusai, just a little further from the Town's Square. It was fairly luxurious and was surrounded by a big garden where many healing plants were grown. Shampoo had never entered the house, always choosing to stay out whenever her Great-grandmother brought her to the herbalist village. Mousse, however, was interested in meeting the elder, as he once read there was a medicine that could help reverse his blindness somewhat, and he hoped Ginseng could give him information about it. They walked to the door and knocked on it a couple of times, waiting until a young maid opened the door.

"Can I help you?" she asked.

"We wish to see Herbalist Master Ginseng," Shampoo said with a polite bow. "Amazon Elder Cologne sends her regards and a message."

"Oh, in that case, I'll take you to him right away," the maid said, knowing quite well that Cologne and Ginseng were good friends, and that her master would probably want to hear Cologne's message as soon as possible. "Please follow me."

"We don't have any message," Mousse whispered.

"He doesn't know that, does he?" Shampoo whispered back. "We'll just make something up, don't worry."

They walked down a corridor decorated with tall vases and portraits of landscapes and then reached the living room, where Ginseng was sitting on his favorite couch, which was conveniently located next to a big window, and talking on the phone.

"Yes, Cologne, I already have the redhead and her friend," he said. "It wasn't difficult to capture them with my paralysis scent. They're in my shop right now, safely locked in the storeroom."

Right then, hearing the door open, Ginseng looked up and nodded when his maid asked if the guests could join him or if they should wait in another room. Once the maid left and Mousse and Shampoo were sitting on the couch in front of him, Ginseng started speaking on the phone again.

"Your great-granddaughter just arrived, Cologne," he announced. "You didn't mention she would come here… oh? Do you want to talk to her? Sure, hold on."

Ginseng offered Shampoo the phone. "Your great-grandmother is asking for you."

"Thank you," Shampoo said and grabbed the phone. "Hello?"

" _Ginseng already captured Ranma and her friend_ ," Cologne said on the other side of the line.

"Yes, I just heard," the teenager provided. "What do you want me to do with them?"

" _Just bring them both back to Joketsuzoku_ ," the elder said. " _Then your mission will be complete_."

"No fighting, then?"

" _You can do that here if you really want to_ ," Cologne told her. " _Just make sure you bring them to the village, I'll take care of the rest._ "

"Very well, it shall be done," Shampoo promised.

 _But outside of Ginseng's garden…_

"Well, that was interesting," Link said in a low voice. She and her twin had recovered reasonably quickly since Shampoo hadn't bothered with pummeling them into a fine paste, so they decided to follow her. Once the twins saw their rival entering the house where the elder lived, they decided to hide in the garden and ended up under the window that looked into the living room, a coincidence that allowed them to overhear some very juicy information.

"Agreed," Pink said with a grin. "We can use this to our advantage if you please?"

"Yes, it seems Shampoo has to take some redhead girl and her friend back to the Amazon village," Link declared. "Or at least that's what I understood."

"It would be a shame if someone went and released those two," Pink smirked sinisterly. "Shampoo's mission would fail."

"And she would probably be punished if that happened," Link nodded.

"Maybe Cologne would take her to train in Jusenkyo," Pink imagined. "Wouldn't that be fun?"

"A lot," Link said. "So…?"

"Yes, let's go save that redheaded girl and her friend, if you please," Pink said.

"Alright, let's go!" Link smiled.

The twins stealthily walked back to the fence that surrounded the garden and jumped over it, hurrying back to Ginseng's shop.

* * *

With a spring in their step and a vendetta on their minds, they reached the store where they two had been kept and surveyed their surroundings.

"The coast is clear..." Pink commented while the pair circled the building, eventually reaching the back, from where they were able to spot a window to the storeroom that had just heard about.

Inside the building, Ryoga and Ranko had been propped against the walls and seated next to one another as though they were ragdolls casually left behind by a child after playtime.

Their heads hung loosely while they silently panicked, try as they might and try they certainly did as the tenacious duo squinted their eyes in some vain attempt to fight the herbalist's paralyzing herbal essence.

'Damn it! Why'd it'd have to end like this!? Why can't I save anyone!? I never even got to...argh...' Ryoga thought desperately as he kept opening his eyes and conveying his feelings through what little his eyelids and intense stares could do.

'Should've known that Ginseng guy was too good to be true, and to think I'm probably gonna' be handed over to some crazy amazons... that crazy purple haired girl will probably just kill me no matter what, all before I could even find out who I really am! Dammit! Dammit! Dammit!' Ranko thought over and over again, envisioning herself shaking her head in anger and disappointment.

Amidst her internal berating she felt her nerves comes to life briefly, unfortunately for her, she had been far too engrossed in her self-loathing to feel her balance shift and tilt her over to her side, her head bumping against Ryoga's arm as though she had been resting on him romantically.

Both Ranko and Ryoga snapped out of their respective pity fests to see that they had accidentally ended up in a pretty awkward situation together. It was at that moment the two inhaled sharply from the contact, letting the other know about their shock. Their inability to speak allowing them to hear whatever was around them.

It was long before they released deeply held in breaths, the air leaving their lungs as though they were carefully trying to keep themselves from knowing what their actions suggested. Thankfully the positions they were in hadn't allowed the other to see each other's faces.

Both shined as though they were bright red tomatoes, Ryoga's eyes looked away bashfully, despite the fact that he knew she couldn't see his eyes, acting only out of instinct. The same could be said for the redheaded martial artist, not like there was much she could accomplish with how they had been captured.

'T-This isn't so bad, really wish I could actually enjoy it but... Ehehe...' Ryoga mused as his thoughts and shyness prevented him from forming more cohesive thoughts.

'Aww man... poor Ryoga... I never even got to find out if I was single," Ranko pondered before blushing again, "S-so maybe, we could've, I dunno...' Ranko thought before shutting her eyes tight.

It was then that the sound of a sliding window echoed in the room, immediately Ryoga's and Ranko's eyes tried to find the source of the disruption. Across from them, they could see the window had been slid open, and then how a woman wearing a strange white outfit dropped into the room.

"Targets found, sister, if you please..." Pink spoke softly enough for her sister to hear her.

"Well done sister, I'll prepare the antidote..." Link commented as she dropped to her knees and began working her magic with a large mixing bowl.

Ranko's and Ryoga's eyes followed the two sisters and widened in surprise from what they were hearing; antidote? Did that mean…?

"Quickly if you please..." Pink whispered as she eyed the only other way into the room. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a pair of eyes locking onto hers, so she made a devious smile as she approached the two.

Neither Ranko nor Ryoga could understand a thing that was going on and appeared a tad bit concerned with the look she was giving them, beads of sweat forming around them in mere seconds.

"Too cute! Looks like the redhead found herself a boyfriend..." Pink teased as she kneeled in front of the two, her eyes shut as a delightful smile occupied her face. "Hmm...?" she stopped for a second to realize that neither had really reacted to her words.

"What is the matter, Sister?" the girl with the red kanji character on her chest asked.

"I don't think they speak Chinese..." she muttered before clearing her throat and closing her eyes.

All Pink could get from their expressions was that they appeared unnerved by their presence, this fact alone caused a smile to form on her face. 'Hope they get this one...' she thought before proceeding.

"Almost done..." Link mumbled while Pink continued undisturbed.

"When we heard there was some poor girl taken by Amazon's, we only hear she had a _friend_ , not a _boyfriend_ …" she muttered in Japanese, adding some emphasize on to the boyfriend part of her little sentence.

Landing her mark with excellent precision both Ranko and Ryoga's faces went bright red, which, in turn, caused Pink to place her hand over her mouth and suppress her giggling fit.

"Sister!" Link paused to say in Japanese while putting down a second medicine ball right next to another one, watching as Ryoga and Ranko appeared to be shocked more than they should have. "No time for games! Pink! Help me, if you please..." she said as she took one of the bowling ball sized pills in both hands.

Pink nodded her head while avoiding eye contact, knowing that she had been caught playing around but still couldn't help herself with certain opportunities presented themselves. Without question, she ran over to her medicine ball and plucked it from the ground like a watermelon fresh from the vine.

Desperate eyes tried as best as they could, sweat coated their faces and the back of their heads, uncertain as to what the motives of these girls were. Fear powered their need to escape, adrenaline coursing through their veins. They hadn't long to make their prayers before feeling their mouths extended to almost cartoonish proportions as the strange sisters forced their jaws open, resting them back to back against each other for added support.

The twins then plunged the medicine balls into their mouths at the same time, startling the two so much that they were finally able to scream from the fear of choking on what felt like globes being forced down their throats. Feeling like they were choking the two began to notice the medicine balls decrease in size and spread so rapidly that without even recognizing their ability to move they sat up and grabbed their throats with shaking hands.

Both Pink and Link safely jumped away from the other two as they fought to catch their breaths.

"What the hell!?" Ryoga demanded, on his hand and knees, one hand over his sore throat.

"Are ya' tryin' kill us!?" Ranko shrieked, in a similar pose.

"Tell us, if you please... can either of you move?" Both Pink and Link asked, surprising the two with how in sync the two twins appeared to be.

"Huh..." Ryoga after calming down felt like a fool for lashing out at this too, considering they hadn't started by barking out threats, the lost boy found himself a little curious.

"Hey, yeah..." Ranko stopped for a moment recognize this fact, also coming to her senses.

"If we wanted you two dead we could have just done it..." Pink commented, crossing her arms with a smug look.

"Now, if you please... we must leave!" Link warned, turning back to whence they came, "through the window!"

"Wait! Before we go anywhere! What gives?" Ranko asked and readied her arms as if preparing to fight.

"You two look an awful lot like the herbalists from around here..." Ryoga mumbled, narrowing his eyes at the two.

As if through some sort of twin telepathy the two were down on their knees while clasping each other's hands, "We are slaves to the Amazons; ever since we were young our parents sold us to them! If we choose to speak up, they would beat or punish us..." they answered while stifling whimpers of sorrow.

"That's awful! You poor things!" Ryoga replied, probably buying into their story a little too easily.

"If it's so bad, maybe you oughtta' come with us!" Ranko offered, taking a step forward, clearly touched by their cries of anguish.

They flinched as if they had been flash frozen, their eyelids fluttered in confusion. "Eh...?" they gawked, not having expected them to be that moved by their little story.

"Yeah! I'm sure we could find a way for you to be safe from them!" Ryoga exclaimed as he offered an encouraging smile to the two lovely sixteen-year-olds. "I'll keep you safe!"

Marveling at the genuine act of kindness both Pink and Link found themselves enticed by his offer, having an almost heroic air to him. Before anyone knew what was going on both twins had affectionately taken one of Ryoga's arms.

"No wonder the redhead take this boy with her..." Pink commented as she swooned.

"Sister, we really mustn't…!" Link warned, falling under Ryoga's spell as well.

"L-Ladies! Please!" Ryoga panicked from the sudden intimacy, looking over his shoulder for some help from his friend. "Ranko!"

"Argh..." Ranko growled faintly as she clenched her fists at her sides.

"They're grabbing onto me! I swear!" Ryoga defended himself, reaching the arm Link had taken out to Ranko, fighting back the nosebleed he knew was coming, as he was able to feel both twins' breasts pressed against his arms.

"Weren't we supposed to leave...?" asked Ranko as her aura flared to life. "We can't if ya keep grabbin' at 'im!"

"Y-Yes, silly us!" Link declared as she released Ryoga's arm and waved her hands out in front of her. "Sister, if you please!" she paused to look over to her sibling, seeing that she hadn't let go of the charming fang-toothed martial artist."Sister!"

"My apologies but the redhead's friend is so, so handsome..." the girl with the blue kanji symbol on her chest replied before releasing Ryoga.

"We ain't got time for this!" Ranko exclaimed before looking over at the sensible one of the twins. "You, what's your name?" she demanded.

"I'm Link and the one who was clinging to your friend's arm is my sister, Pink..."

"Ni hao!" Pink greeted while facing Ryoga, her eyes closed.

"I-I'm Ryoga!" he responded nervously.

"An' I'm Ranko..." she announced, crossing her arms, "and before we got anywhere with you two, first we gotta' know why..."

"I-It _is_ a little suspicious..." Ryoga mumbled with a hitch in a voice as he moved away from Pink in order to be closer to his redheaded friend.

"We only want to spare others a life of servitude..." Pink and Link said in unison.

Their explanation was met with two stares from the two martial artists; however, the twins spoke with such confidence that Ranko felt herself believing the two. "So, are you guys leading the way or can we just book it from here?" Ranko asked with a slightly less sour disposition.

"Follow us!" they answered calmly before turning back to the window they entered from and leaping through it, one at a time.

Ryoga's face portrayed worry for his amnesic ridden friend but found that he just didn't know what to say, sighing after hearing her go through the window, 'I should've said something to calm Ranko down but...' Ryoga grit his teeth, cursing his bashful and inexperienced nature.

"You coming or what...?" Ranko asked while looking off to her side, looking as though she was pouting.

Ryoga looked up at the redhead before finding a small smile creep on his face, he let out a sigh of relief and smiled.

Gaining distance from Ginseng's store, the two twins led the two martial artists through various alleyways throughout the herbalist village, hopping over fences, hiding behind walls, waiting for anyone who could spot them to pass them by.

The party of four ran along an alleyway with Link leading the way with her eyes ever on the alert until they reached the end of the alleyway, coming across a rather large wooden fence at the end of it.

"We are here!" Pink & Link said, stopping to point at the very top of the fence.

"Just past this fence is the forest!" Link exclaimed.

"Go now! If you please!" Pink exclaimed as well.

"We can't thank you two enough..." Ryoga bowed his head as a sign of appreciation.

Link closed her eyes and gave Ryoga a warm smile, fanning her hand as a way to tell him that it was alright, "It's okay, now get going, if you please..."

Pink, on the other hand, gave a toothy grin before putting her hands on her hips and soaking in all the glory, despite this whole thing being some clever way of sticking it to the purple haired Amazon. "Good luck you two! Especially you, Ryoga..." she commented with a smirk.

Ranko and Ryoga were well aware of Pink's teasing by now but couldn't help but still had to feel a little flustered by her attempts. "If you're all done talkin'! Let's get outta' here before someone sees us!" Ranko muttered, feeling her patience and annoyance grow while in Pink's presence.

"R-Right!" Ryoga exclaimed nervously before looking at the twins once more and nodding his head, leaping to one side of the wall before bouncing off them and onto the top part of the fence.

Ranko narrowed her eyes a little before dashing towards one of the walls, jumping off them in the same way Ryoga had just prior, that was until she came across her second leap, "Dammit!" she exclaimed as she reached her arm out in an attempt to catch the top part.

"I gotcha!" Ryoga said, catching Ranko by her wrist before yanking her up to stand next to him.

"Thanks..." Ranko blushed in embarrassment before looking back to the two twins, seeing that they had already fled the scene she turned to Ryoga who had also looked. Sharing a moment of silence they looked to one another before nodding their heads, jumping down and into the forest.

* * *

Shampoo marched down the dirt path that led back to Ginseng's shop, arms to her sides, her steps brimming with focus and determination. Walking alongside her was Mousse, arms extended outwards to her, trying to reason with an Amazon and their pride, well, perhaps this one Amazon who choose to defy their ways.

"Shampoo... do you really want to fight them again? You felt firsthand how much stronger she was..." Mousse pleaded in an attempt to keep her safe.

"So you've already fought with the redheaded one?" Ginseng asked, surprised by learning someone could defeat an Amazon.

"It was pure luck!" Shampoo complained, not turning to look at Mousse.

"Hmm... I was indeed wise to use a paralyzing scent..." Ginseng mused while briskly following the two, humming to himself as he stroked his long, pointy beard. "Even then, they held out longer than most, they are indeed a resilient pair..."

"But you should consider it a bit…" Mousse insisted.

"I don't care!" She interrupted. "That fake woman beat me once!"

"Alright, then, if you're getting a rematch then I want one too!" He said giving up and decided fighting Ryoga along with Shampoo was his best option to avoid angering her and keep her safe.

"Truly Amazon blood runs deep in your veins," Ginseng stated with a clenching of his fist."If you're so determined to fight these two, please allow me to make the necessary preparations..."

"So you don't disappoint my Great Grandmother?" Shampoo asked before stopping at the front of the storeroom.

"But of course, Honored Great Granddaughter..." he bowed with his arms tugged in his sleeves, upon standing back up he retrieved his key and unlocked his door.

"How many times have you needed to do this for Cologne...?" Mousse asked, feeling that the old man seemed a little too used to this situation.

"Enough..." was his simple response as he leads the two inside the front of the store, searching through some shelves with his long boney pointer finger. The ends of his horn like brows curved outwards before curling back in into position, a content smile on his face.

Shampoo waited as patiently as an anxious child, tapping her foot repeated on the floor before looking back over to Ginseng who held a white candle in his hand before reaching for another candle, however, the second was white.

"Karma rewards patience, children..." Ginseng muttered with his eyes closed, making his way to the back of the room.

Mousse sighed deeply and took off his glasses, narrowing his eyes. "Let's do this..."

"You know the fact that you have to remove your glasses to look cool, makes you look less cool, right?" Shampoo asked criticizing Mousse's choice of actions.

"He has much to learn…" Ginseng commented as they reached the door, unlocking it with the same key had had just used earlier.

Shampoo rolled her eyes as Ginseng made his disapproval known with that comment, much to Mousse's dismay, 'Just when I think I'm making progress with her, I go and screw up...' he thought before hearing the sound of the door creak open.

"Aiya! Where did they go!?" Shampoo shouted, her eyes wide and in shock.

"What gives? Where are you hiding them, huh!?" Mousse demanded as he cast blame upon Ginseng, taking a step towards the elder as if he were sizing him up. "Did you let them go? Is this some sort of joke?"

"I-I can assure you I've done no such thing!" Ginseng stuck his hands in the air as though Mousse had pulled a gun on him, dropping everything he carried, his candleholder clanking on the ground as it fell.

"They escaped!" Shampoo accused, "your stupid herbal scent didn't work!"

"Honored Great Granddaughter! We have the finest of herbal essences in all of the region! No village in the Byankala mountain range has better medicine than us! Whatever happened, they were either carried out or cured!" Ginseng responded, standing up for the honor of his craft.

"They're outsiders! Who could possibly want to help them!?" Mousse demanded.

"I do not know!" he responded but right after felt his eye wander to the side. "Unless..."

"Unless, what...?" Shampoo pushed for him to answer.

"Tell me, have either of you wronged anyone here before, perhaps... recently?" Ginseng lowered his hands to his waistline before just letting them drop.

Shampoo fought to overcome her anger and frustration, taking Ginseng's words into consideration she paused to think, her eyes widened before she looked over her shoulder and in the direction of the front door.

* * *

Ginseng stood amongst his people, surrounded in what appeared to the very center of the village, his arms extended outwards as he spoke. "One of our honored allies has requested our aid! My fellow people of Yakusai, be aware of a girl with red hair and blue eyes! She is dressed in red Chinese silk garb! She's been seen traveling with a young man! Dressed in yellow! Perhaps you all recall! They had been browsing extensively! Spread this message and bring honor and favor to our humble village!"

His words resonated with his audience as they began to talk amongst themselves. Some already left to try and catch them on their own.

This pleased the experienced merchant, he hummed silently to himself as his eyes became half-lidded, 'I have done my part, I only pray that Elder Cologne does not seek to punish me or our village for losing those two while under my care...' he thought before shoving his hands up his sleeves.

"Shampoo! Wait up!" Mousse called out to his childhood friend while she leaped from building to building.

"What do you want?" she exclaimed as she landed in the middle of an empty street, turning around to see Mousse land behind her.

"Just fill me in! I know that look on your face!" he exclaimed, shaking his fists and parting his legs before sighing and dipping his head.

"Alright..." Shampoo muttered, clearly wanting to get back to the task at hand. "I remembered those plant witches! Find those two!" she shouted before ascending to the nearest home.

"I knew you shouldn't have talked to those two..."Mousse said, shaking his head.

In what appeared to be another narrow alleyway the two sisters rested their backs against the walls across from each other, hands near their mouths as they suppressed fits of laughter.

"I bet when she finds out she'll say... Aiya! Where did they go?" Pink mocked as she took on a bad impression of Shampoo, clapping her hands together.

"And her stupid friend with the stupid glasses will say... What gives? Where are you hiding them, Ginseng!?" Link joked while making circles with her fingers around her eyes to emphasize Mousse's spectacles.

"Do you really think I sound like that!?" Shampoo shouted as she landed on the twin's right.

"Ah!" both twin's screamed in horror, clinging to one another as they tried to put some distance between them and their tormentor.

"Stupid glasses, huh!?" Mousse asked, landing just behind the two girls.

Dark shadows hung over Shampoo's and Mousse's eyes, cracking their knuckles, watching as the two clearly unprepared sisters suffered a panic attack at the unexpected ambush.

"Wait, just listen to us!" the duo screamed yet again, Pink watching Shampoo while Link stared at Mousse.

"We'll listen as soon as we do this," Shampoo sentenced grimly.

 _And so…_

"Ugh!" Pink and Link groaned as they hit the ground, covered in scratches and a few bruises.

 _A few minutes later…_

"Master Herbalist Ginseng! We've caught the ones responsible for this whole mess!" Mousse said as he tilted his head down and glared at the two sisters.

The Master Herbalist twirled around to see the twins, "You two would dare to bring shame upon our village by conspiring against the Amazons!?" Ginseng's voice boomed as he spoke to the two.

The twins flinched immediately, closing their eyes, being unable to defend themselves due to the circumstances. "A thousand apologies Master Ginseng, but we simply wanted revenge for all the acts of violence the honored Great Granddaughter has done-"

"I do not care! You are beneath her status!" Ginseng interrupted. "Such acts of treason are often met with death!"

"Please! All we wanted to do was to live without fear of-"

"Silence!" Ginseng commanded, shutting the two sisters up. "If you two were not such gifted pupils I would see to it that you were hanged for your actions!"

"W-what will become of us...?" Link asked uncertainly.

Ginseng turned to Shampoo and bowed his head, putting his hands to his sides. "Please allow my two wayward students a chance to redeem our village in Elder Cologne's eyes."

"What!?" they exclaimed before turning to look at Shampoo.

Shampoo pondered the idea for a second, giving Pink and Link a cold stare.

"Perhaps their services could prove useful in your search, Honorable Great-Granddaughter?"

"I'd say this sounds like a fair punishment," Mousse stated, lowering his head. "Plus maybe provide us with some supplies for the long search, I mean, it's probably the least you can do."

"Of course! I'll have my maid fetch some traveling supplies and rations for your journey!" Ginseng spoke quickly as he then looked to the twin herbalists, sighing in disappointment. Couldn't these two understand how fearsome the Amazons could be? Angering the Amazons was almost as bad as crossing the Musk Dynasty!

* * *

Running as fast as their legs could carry them, the redhead and Lost Boy dashed through the forest as fast as they could, Ranko leading the way as her arms swung to her sides. "Ryoga!" Ranko exclaimed, looking at her friend.

"Yeah?" Ryoga asked, looking at redhead from the corner of his eye.

"I don't want anything to do with these Amazons or Herbalists!"

"Especially since we know now that they're so bad they even have their own servants acting out!"

"I don't know about those two! Something about them felt really off!"

"What do you mean?" Ryoga asked.

"Just sumthin' about em', their whole trying to 'spare us' thing, felt like some kinda' play or something!"

"Are you saying they were lying about their reasons for helping us?"

"I'm just sayin' that they probably got some kinda' scheme in the works!"

"Are you sure about that? Why go through all that trouble?" Ryoga asked, his curiosity peaked as well as the fact that Ranko did have a point. "Come to think of it, wouldn't they have had some kinda' bruises or something if they got beaten...?"

"Especially ta' the point of backstabbing..." Ranko pointed out.

"What should we do now?" Ryoga asked as they continued to cover more ground.

"I don't know! For now, let's just look for a cure elsewhere! Far! Far away!"

"Guess we don't have a choooooice!" Ryoga's voice echoed as he fell into a pit, his voice suddenly sounding as though it was being smothered in his sleep.

"Ryoga!?" Ranko's eyes widened, hitting the brakes so hard her flats actually made a light screeching sound. "Ryoga!"

The redhead ran frantically back to where her friend fell. 'Please don't be a pit of spikes!' she thought desperately, squinting her eyes once before opening them to see the lost boy was struggling against some sort of sticky vine net. He was tangled in a funny way, however, his arms trapped and the lower half of his face covered by the vines.

"Don't worry man! I'll get you ou-" A small gnome sized shadowy silhouette conked Ranko in the back of her head, and she fell to her knees with a thud before hitting her side.

Ryoga fought against his restraints and with all his might he was able to dislodge the corner of his lips.

"Ranko!? Ranko!? What's wrong!?"

Darkness was the only thing that Ranko could see, it felt as though her eyelids were just too heavy to move, almost like they were weighted down or something, 'Where am I...? Ryoga... Ryoga... oh wait... wasn't he...?' Ranko's inner voice echoed in her mind.

"...Ranko..."

"Huh...?"

"...Ranko...Ranko... please!"

"Please... please what?"

"Silence... she's coming to..."

Ranko found her eyes opening gently to see that she was bound by her arms and legs, her back against a hard surface as she was sitting, "Huh..."

"I see you're finally awake..."

"Ranko! You're alright!" Ryoga exclaimed as he sat next to her, his bindings were noticeably thicker than Ranko's.

"Quiet boy! I told you I was pretty sure I hadn't hit her that hard!"

"Argh... my head..." Ranko muttered as she squinted her eyes once, feeling a stinging pain shoot throughout the back of her head. "Who're you supposed ta' be...?" Ranko asked, narrowing her eyes with distrust.

"I don't think either of you are in any position to make demands, so, I'm afraid I'll be the one asking the questions around here..." she replied, closing her eyes and inhaling deeply before blowing out a puff of smoke from her pipe.

"What do you want...? She's obviously still a little out of it!" Ryoga defended.

"Now perhaps your friend here will be more cooperative..."

"Huh...?" Ranko paused, blinking as she got a good luck at the woman that had captured them.

She was about the same size as Cologne, but that was all that she had in common with the aged mummy. Ranko could see her reflection in her rectangular reading glasses, but she was still clearly able to see how serious this woman was taking things.

"Who are you two and why have you invaded my territory...?"

* * *

DaisukiFox: Mousse, Shampoo, and Ginseng for this story were by far the hardest ones for me to write for! I had to redo so many scenes but damn it if it wasn't fun... anyway! It's almost time for Thanksgiving and hopefully, we can have another page of something up for those nearing this very family of friendly times... and great deals at stores where you go to fight over the best electronics! I mean... Happy soon-to-be Thanksgiving everyone! XD

Dr. Facer: Finally another chapter! This is actually the end of the first arc of the story, and starting the next chapter we'll begin the next part, which will include many things that will bring a few surprises and answers to some of the plot points we introduced in the first arc. See you next chapter!

 ** _Prescribing Fluff from the doctor~_**

 ** _Doctor Fox~_**


	5. Chapter 5

**Lost Together Chapter 5**

 **By: Dr. Fox**

 **Disclaimer: (Both of us) Do not own Ranma 1/2! Ranma 1/2 is owned by Rumiko Takahashi and Viz Media!** **Please support the official release!**

 **Dr Facer: Welcome to a new chapter of Lost Together, we hope that during the year updates will be more regular, we hope you enjoy this new chapter!**

 **DaisukiFox: We've been working hard and enjoying the ride! We thank you all for your interest in this story. ^^ Remember to consider checking us KiyomuMitsue's page. Anyways! On to the show!**

* * *

Silence filled the room as neither Ryoga nor Ranko had responded to the elderly woman's question. This did not sit too well with her, she hummed to herself in a clearly agitated sort of way.

"She doesn't have to answer anything!" Ryoga announced.

"Well, hopefully, she'll know more than you boy!" the Amazonian elder rudely interjected, pointing her cane directly at the Lost Boy, however, he did not appear afraid of her.

Ranko stared down their captor, possibly weighing out their options. "Wait...you don't...?" Ranko paused before muttering, taking a second to rewind the strange woman's choice of words, the redhead quirked a brow.

"Huh...?" Ryoga stopped, noticing the look on Ranko's face.

"I don't, what...?" she asked dangerously narrowing her eyes, "Child..."

Ranko's face matched the elder's intensity, their auras battling over dominance. "Look here, we're not anyone you should be worried about! We just fell into your trap by accident... okay?"

"Such a rude child, has no one taught you any respect for your elders?"

"Rude? You're the one who's got us all tied up you crazy mum-" Ryoga lashed out, fighting against his restraints, his efforts causing stretching noises from his thick rope binding only to be struck on the top of his head, making Ryoga cry out in pain.

"Hey! Who the hell do you think you are, ya' old crone-" Ranko only got as far before facing the end of the cane as well.

"From now on, you two shall refer to me as Lo-shen..." she spoke as clearly as she possibly could.

On Ranko and Ryoga's side, the two had to take a moment to let the oddness of these Chinese names sink in. The strangeness of it all even took some focus away from Ranko's repeated head trauma.

"Alright, Lotion… I'm Ryoga and this here is my friend, Ranko, and…" he introduced, gesturing to his companion next to him with a swaying of his head. He took in a deep breath to calm down, closed his eyes and lowered his head before opening them again, feeling somewhat calmer.

"Before we say anything else," Ranko said suddenly, catching Ryoga off guard, silencing him. "Are you with those Amazons? You look like you're from these parts!"

Lo-shen blinked as she had been caught with her hand in the cookie jar, "I actually thought _you_ might be connected to them..."

"So, you're saying both sides thought we were...?" Ryoga paused, realizing how silly they must have all looked.

"So then what are you foreigners doing here so far out in the Bayankara mountains?" Lotion asked before holding a sleeve up beneath her chin, humming to herself.

"It's a little complicated but this is actually the case..." Ryoga spoke up, feeling that a warning was necessary for what they were about to tell her.

"You cannot possibly imagine the things I've seen, child, at best I'll be moderately surprised..." the old woman said right before putting her arms in her sleeves but keeping her cane close to her form.

"Alright then..." Ryoga blinked then looked at his friend who met his eyes then looked down briefly before meeting his gaze and with a deep breath and a little hesitation, she opened her mouth and then closed it before starting again.

Lo-shen watched this silent exchange, her head tilting to one side.

"I can't remember much before I met Ryoga but I got attacked by this crazy girl with purple hair, who I found out was an Amazon trying to kill me for who knows what crazy reason!"

"Amnesia..." Lotion muttered.

"Exactly..." Ryoga confirmed. "I decided that I'd help Ranko get her memory not too long after..."

"Nǐ huì shuō zhōngwén ma? ( _Do you speak Chinese?_ )" Lotion spoke, facing towards Ryoga.

"Huh...?" Ryoga blinked.

"Strange, the girl I understand but you, boy, you seem to be hiding something..."

"What are you on bout'?" Ranko pouted in annoyance.

"I'm with Ranko... what?" Ryoga inquired.

"You don't speak Chinese yet you're so far out here as well, I say this because when talking it seems like you're both trying to avoid this boy's side of the story..." Lo-shen focused, targeting him and his intentions.

"I-it's personal..." Ryoga's face tensed to the point it felt that it like he may go on a feral rampage.

"You don't have to tell her everything, ya' know..." Ranko assured.

"Save your breath, girl. Now, boy, I've seen enough from you and I can sense a great ki imbalance within you..." She relaxed her vision and closed her eyes before continuing.

"Although seeing as Ranko here seems to understand this to the point of hiding it, I can only imagine someone has wronged you..." Lo-shen's eyes looked as though they condemned this magnitude of hate.

"It's got nothing to do with either of you, trust me..." Ryoga lowered his head and showed genuine remorse for his short loss of control.

"Look! We're just trying to get my memory back so I can live my life again! And he's helping! But the Amazon's are after me and now we're pretty sure the whole village of Yakusai is helping them!"

"Have you not stopped to consider the possibility that they're after you for also wronging them?"

"Watch your mouth! Don't think for a second I don't know what you're thinking! Ranko couldn't!"

The redhead choked, hit with waves of doubt and panic as when she thought about it, _'It's not like I really know who I am... but-but I couldn't? Could I?'_ she thought, unfortunately, able to see Lotion's point of view.

Stopping himself Ryoga saw from the corner of his eye that his friend had become quiet and even hesitated to speak, "Ranko..."

"How can you be so sure? How far can you truly trust someone with amnesia?"

"Even so! The Ranko right here right now is innocent!" Ryoga exclaimed, feeling his face go red from forcing himself to say those words.

"Such recklessness..." Lotion said, sighing and shaking her head, _'Either this boy is in love or incredibly stupid... could be either really...'_ the aged Amazon thought.

"Ryoga, I... thanks, man..." Ranko swallowed, feeling glad to know that despite her questionable position he was still willing to stay by her side.

Ryoga's heart felt like it was going to explode with how much he had just done, _'Dammit! I can't believe I'd... but I just can't believe that Ranko could-'_ Ryoga thought before swallowing hard and facing Lotion with his eyes shut tight.

"So now you know… we're no harm to you and we just want to get as far away from here as possible," Ryoga said, opening his eyes near the end of closing their case.

"I will need time to think. For now, you two must wait..."

"W-what? You're not seriously going to leave us like this!?" Ranko demanded as she fought against her restraints, only to smack her back straight against the chunk of stone beneath her.

"What do you take me for, a fool? I know you're willing to take such a risk but I know neither of you enough to take that risk..." she answered as though she were giving a plain as day answer.

"I told you I'm willing to accept the consequences, please let us go!" Ryoga pleaded.

"I'm sorry but for now I must tend to my garden... I hope you two can understand." She then stood up as much as she could despite how oversized her garb looked in comparison to her small body. She looked at them one final time and casually began to walk away from the two.

Her actions alone caused Ryoga and Ranko to stare in shock, unsure as to what to do about the situation. "Are you serious!?" Ranko shouted in disbelief and anger.

"Get back here!" Ryoga cried as he bore his fangs.

All the while it seemed as though Lo-shen hadn't even been paying attention, using the end of her cane to push her slightly ajar door completely open before exiting the room and shutting the door behind her, leaving the two in the room completely alone.

* * *

The packs were heavy on their backs, but the group of four teenagers, three girls and one boy, still managed to make steady progress as they moved through the Chinese forest surrounding the Bayankara Mountains. They had been walking for a few hours already, trying to find any trace of the two evasive fugitives who had fled the herbalist village. Leading the party was Shampoo, who was currently engaged in a loud argument with apprentice herbalist Pink; they were arguing about what they should do the next day. Shampoo wanted to keep going in the same direction to get closer to the taller mountains in a straight path, an idea that Pink strongly refuted as that would force them to cross the cursed Jusenkyo springs which was dangerous enough, but what really scared her was getting close to Mount Phoenix and the rumored bird people who lived there.

"Those are nothing but stupid legends!" Shampoo said with an exasperated huff. "And you're stupid for believing them!"

"Legends or not, I don't want to risk getting in trouble with them just because you're a fool!" Pink countered. "Besides, there're rumors of some big hairy ape beast prowling around that area, too!"

"Well, you're a coward and besides I'd be doing all the fighting!"

And while this continued, a few steps behind the two warring teenagers, Mousse and Link simply walked with their heads hanging low, both wondering when the useless banter would end. The near-sighted boy was willing to go wherever Shampoo decided, as he hoped this would help him get closer to her, but he'd rather she stopped arguing, since his hearing was slightly more sensitive than normal and the loud voices were starting to get aggravating. But even if it was starting to be annoying, he wouldn't stop helping her. He cared too much for her.

"Pink is being so hardheaded," Link, who walked just behind him, lamented in a low, low voice.

"Shampoo can be as well," he agreed with a whisper, "sometimes, at least."

"You heard me?"

"Yeah, I did," Mousse said with a shrug, continuing when she stared at him with a puzzled look. "My hearing's pretty good, much better than my sight at least. That's why I heard you."

Link nodded, glancing at Mousse in silence for a bit, noticing how thick and large his glasses were and wondering how she would feel if she had his poor eyesight. She thought she wouldn't be able to deal with it.

"I've heard of the beast your sister mentioned," Mousse said then. "My father is friends with the Jusenkyo guide and he heard it's just some poor bastard who fell on a very cursed spring. I'm sure we can just talk to him if we meet him."

"I really don't want to go there, those cursed springs are a bad place and should be avoided," the girl said with a shudder. "Can we just go to some of the other villages instead, if you please?"

"Jusenkyo is indeed cursed," Mousse agreed. "But it isn't that bad. Legend says that any martial artist who completes the special training you can do there will gain incredible power. That's what they say in Joketsuzoku, at least."

"In our village, we say that if you go there with a restless heart, Jusenkyo will know and choose the spring that will hurt your life most and draw you to it so that you fall," Link provided. "Like I said, it's a bad place, the worst in these mountains."

"It's not worse than the Musk Dynasty's territory if you ask me," Mousse told her. "That's the place I want to avoid."

"It's quite close to Jusenkyo, too," Link sighed. "I don't like it either, the Musk are creepy."

It was then that Shampoo turned to look at Pink so she could tell her straight to her face how stupid she was. But instead, what the young amazon saw was Mousse talking with the other twin. _Talking!_ He was not supposed to do that! The twins were little more than dead weight, there to provide only two extra pairs of eyes but nothing else, why was he wasting their time talking to one of them? If he had to talk to someone, it should be her, not Pink or Link… particularly Link!

"Hey!" She shouted angrily, causing both Pink and Link to freeze where they stood. "Mousse, what are you doing back there? Come to the front, let the deadweight walk behind us!"

"We're not…!" Pink started but was quickly silenced by her twin's hand over her mouth.

"Sure, we'll do that, don't you worry!" Link promised with a nervous smile as she dragged her sister a few steps back, "now, sister, calm down… if you please?"

"Ugh… fine!" Pink agreed, taking a deep breath to calm down. She decided this was for the best because if she kept arguing with Shampoo she would get an ulcer, she just knew it. Besides, if the idiot Amazon and her blind friend were walking front, if something or someone dangerous came their way it would hit them first, something Pink was quite alright with.

"I don't think they're deadweight," Mousse said when he was walking next to Shampoo. "Their skills may come in handy, you know?"

"They are too annoying," Shampoo answered, not looking at him. "And I'd rather you don't talk to them. You are supposed to be helping _me_ , aren't you?"

"Well, yes, but…"

"No buts!" She exclaimed and bopped him in the head. "I'm the one in trouble, here! I can't fail my Great-grandmother again, you know? If I do she may decide to punish me in some awful way! Mousse, I need to know I can count on you, alright?"

Mousse closed his eyes and felt Shampoo's ki fluctuate; a person could control their voice and facial expression but it took them a lot of training to keep their emotions from showing in their ki. And he felt Shampoo was not angry, she was worried, almost afraid he thought. It wasn't surprising either; the idea of being punished by Cologne was particularly frightening. Why, his own Great-Grandmother…

"Can I count on you?" She asked again.

"Always, Shampoo." He said and risked placing his hand on her shoulder to reassure her, feeling happily surprised when she didn't flinch or moved away. "I'll always help you, you know that."

The young Amazon didn't reply and simply smiled, satisfied. She then refocused on the rarely used road they were traversing, hoping to effectively hide how pleased she felt knowing Mousse was willing to help her and also wondering why she was feeling that way.

 _Hours later…_

The four eventually set camp near Jusenkyo, paying close attention to do it on the area that was Joketsuzoku territory as none of them wanted to deal with any Musk guard that could be passing through their borders, as they were known to do. Pink and Link were content since nothing scary had occurred; the twins weren't cowards, but they both strongly disliked pain, taking risks or getting involved in scuffles they had little chance of winning unharmed, so they were really appreciative of their good luck that day. As for Mousse and Shampoo, they were also quiet, if not as content as the herbalist sisters. Shampoo had descended into a permanent state of frustration, and would have gotten violent with the twins if Mousse hadn't been there; the near-sighted teenager had become a calming influence on the purple haired girl, mainly because Mousse was calm and collected about the whole thing. He wasn't as emotionally involved in the mission as Shampoo or the twins were, so he could simply concentrate on enjoying the chance of spending time with the girl he was in love with and using this as an opportunity to get closer to her.

"I wish we had cooked meat to go with this," Pink complained as she stared at her measly portion of rice and vegetables. "We did bring canned pork, why are we eating this?"

"Because we must economize our rations, if you please," Link reminded her. "We don't know how long we'll be on the road."

"Doesn't seem to be a concern for them," Pink frowned and pointed at Mousse and Shampoo, who was enjoying a very tasty smelling stew.

"Shampoo has more resources than we do," Link sighed. "Just be glad the village elder gave us some food."

"The Joketsuzoku kids could share with us," Pink said with evident distaste.

"Don't count on it," Link stated. "Shampoo thinks we'll poison them if we get close to their meals."

"Well, _I_ would poison them," Pink grinned. "They deserve it."

"Mousse doesn't."

Pink stared at her twin and noticed the way she was looking at the long-haired boy. She didn't like it one bit. Was Link getting a crush on that blind fool? That would be bad; _apocalyptic_ levels of bad. Shampoo would never forgive them if that happened.

"Sister, if you please…" Pink called in a scared whisper, "tell me you're not starting to like Mousse."

Link started coughing, having swallowed her food the wrong way after hearing her sister's words, "I don't… I just think he's a nice guy, ok?"

"If you say so…" Pink sighed, not at all convinced.

 _Later still…_

Link couldn't sleep. She was tired, of course, but was feeling restless and it was her sister's fault. Why did she have to ask her if she liked Mousse? She clearly didn't. Girls could be friends with boys and that didn't mean they liked them… right?

"You and your big mouth…" Link muttered as she sat and stared at Pink, who was soundly asleep. She sighed and decided walking around for a bit maybe what she needed, so she wrapped her blanket around her shoulders to ward off the chilly wind and silently exited her tent.

The camp was quiet except for the creaking of burning wood to her left. She looked in that direction worrying that the fire they started to cook dinner had gone out of control but she just found Mousse sitting on a rock next to it, poking at it with a stick to keep the flames alight. The young herbalist stood there for almost a minute, thinking and considering her emotions until she was finally certain she didn't have a crush on Mousse. She had enjoyed talking with him earlier, and he seemed nice. In fact, Link decided they could be friends, but nothing really more than that.

"You can't sleep either?" She asked once she was standing next to him.

"I thought you were your sister," Mousse said, not looking at her. "I'm still not familiar enough with your ki signatures to tell you apart, you know? And no, I can't sleep."

"I see. Can I sit here for a minute, if you please?" Pink said, thinking she didn't really need to know how he detected her ki, as far as she knew, it was a fairly advanced skill that took many years to master, but she reasoned the Amazons were simply that good at martial arts.

"What about you?" Mousse wanted to know. "Why aren't you asleep?"

"…Nothing in particular," she said. "It's just that this whole thing with that redhead and her friend is too strange. Why do you guys want to get them so badly?"

"They caused trouble in our village," Mousse answered but didn't elaborate. "It's just I have this feeling things will only get more complicated before they end and that honestly worries me."

"I hope you're wrong," Link sighed. "I don't like violence or getting in trouble."

"Well…" Mousse turned to face the young herbalist apprentice. He adjusted his glasses and noticed her concerned frown, and studying her ki told him she was indeed quite nervous. "Hey, don't worry too much, I'm sure it'll all be fine, and we all may end up as good friends, right?"

Link couldn't help but find his words incredibly silly, she and Link becoming good friends with Shampoo? Not in a million years! She tried to respond but giggled instead. "Oh, Mousse…"

Shampoo couldn't sleep. She couldn't stop thinking about what her Great-grandmother could do to her if she failed. She imagined that Cologne would choose the most severe punishment possible and the girl just didn't know what it would be, and that uncertainty was making her stomach twist in ways that weren't pleasant at all.

She heard voices outside and frowned, who was out there? The twins? She closed her eyes and paid attention to the people talking. She quickly recognized Mousse, and indeed, the other person was one of those annoying twins, but which one? Shampoo felt immediately upset; she had told Mousse to avoid talking to the herbalist girls. Why wasn't he doing what she asked?

It was then when Shampoo noticed the herbalist girl giggling and then heard her say…

" _Oh, Mousse…_ "

And those words, drilling into her ears, finally set her blood to a boiling point and before she could really think about what she was doing, a furious Shampoo reached for her chui and almost tore open her tent. She stomped out towards the fire and found that Link and Mousse weren't even sitting close to each other, but she was smiling and he seemed just too comfortable with her presence. The only thing Shampoo's brain could process was that she could _not_ allow this to continue; because Mousse was _her_ friend! He was _hers_ and that was it!

"Shampoo, come sit with…"

* _Crash!_ *

Mousse couldn't finish his invitation, for Shampoo's Chui collided with his face with the strength of a cannonball, knocking him out cold and once again terrifying Link so badly she could only shriek in surprise.

"Mousse is _my_ friend," Shampoo declared as she grabbed the unconscious boy from the collar of his shirt with her right hand and picked her mace-like weapon with the other. "Talk to him more than necessary and you will be in a lot of pain. Do you understand?"

"I…y-yes… u-under-understood," Link stammered, too terrified to say anything else she simply sat in silence while Shampoo dragged Mousse into her tent and not really comprehending what had just happened, she simply decided Shampoo had been jealous, and given the present evidence, making her jealous was _not_ in her best interests at all.

As for Pink, she had remained completely oblivious to all this drama, still sleeping like a log.

* * *

For as long as they had been tied up both Ranko and Ryoga had suppressed their need to shout obsessively whenever they saw Lo-Shen through the small window on the door in front of them. Whenever she wasn't the two would remain quiet, silently waiting for her to either come back so they could try to reason with her or hope they could find some way to prove to her they're not actually a danger. Though Ranko and Ryoga found themselves staring at the door far longer than they had wanted to, their eyes began to lose hope and their heads began to sink further down their collars like a slowly moving avalanche.

"Ryoga…" Ranko muttered with her eyes closed, her voice coming out in a dull and tired tone.

"Yeah, Ranko...?" the Lost Boy asked his voice sounding just as monotonous as hers.

There was a pause before Ranko struggled against her restraints again, although she seemed more like she was trying to find some way to make a large piece of rock comfortable. "I don't know! I just feel like talking! I just don't know what to talk about…"

"I guess I get that, we could talk about anything you want, maybe?" he suggested.

Ryoga looked off to the side, _'What should I say? What can I say? Is it my fault we're here? I am the one who...'_ Ryoga thought while scrunching up his face.

"Hey, Ryo…" Ranko's voice mumbled again as she turned to face him, catching a glimpse of his disgruntled face.

This snapped Ryoga out of his, he turned to see Ranko looking at him with a slightly surprised but quizzical face. "Y-yeah?"

"Man, you're so obvious sometimes about how you really feel…" Ranko sighed and looked down before taking a deep breath.

"Wh-what?" Ryoga's eyes felt as though they had suddenly expanded to the size of baseballs, his voice stuck in his throat as he feared for the worst.

"I know you're having second thoughts about helping me, so, I'm sor-"

"Don't apologize, Ranko! Nobody told me to help you! I-I wanted to!" Ryoga explained, choking halfway through his sentence, realizing it made him seem way more interested than he'd like to let on, at least, consciously.

"What're you gettin' at?" Ranko asked somewhat nervously.

"I-if anyone should be apologizing it's me! I'm the one who suggested we get jobs in that crazy village..."

"W-what? You ain't gotta' be so noble all the time!" Ranko barked, reaching Ryoga's level of anger but almost immediately letting it fizzle out like a dying fire. "It's my fault! How could you have known?"

"It's my fault we got caught!" Ryoga countered.

"It's my fault because I'm the one they're after!"

The two looked like rabid beasts poised to strike, their staring contest a strength of will rather than wits.

"Wait..." Ryoga paused to think. "Are we fighting over whose fault this is?"

"You bet we-" Ranko's anger began to fade when she realized what Ryoga had.

"Wow... I think I'm just as bored as you..." Ryoga muttered, noticing that the argument did, in fact, keep them from being bored but found that all that did was kill only a small while for the two.

"Whoever's fault this is, this still sucks..."

"No kidding..." Ryoga muttered.

"Wanna' talk about something else? Something not so depressing maybe..."

"Like what...?" Ryoga asked after a brief pause.

"Like..." Ranko looked to her side, "What's up with that Ki imbalance thing that old fossil was talkin' about?"

"I... I honestly don't know..."

"Ki is like energy, right?"

"I think so but I really don't know much about it, I wonder if there's a cure for this..." Ryoga looked off to the side, knowing he had an imbalance didn't sit well with him. Especially since being a martial artist involved a very delicate balance to attain true strength.

"Hey, don't get so down! You ain't the only one with a weird sorta' problem..." Ranko began but needed a moment to gather herself, actually trying to comfort her devoted friend.

"Are you saying there's something other than your amnesia?" Ryoga asked with a noticeable hitch in his tone, which did not go unseen by his redheaded friend.

"Yeah but it's not really all that bad..."

"So, what exactly is it...?"

"I-It's stupid..." Ranko found herself feeling dumb because of it, for her, it felt like a violent allergic reaction; or what she thought one would be like.

"Want to talk about it?" Ryoga paused to let her answer.

Ranko flinched just barely enough for Ryoga to see, "Not really..."

For a moment Ryoga felt that maybe he wasn't as close to Ranko as he would have liked, despite him knowing about the possibility of her memory returning and of her memories of him fading with it. "Well…"

"I just..." Ranko began shutting her eyes, finding it a little hard to open up, _'Dammit! I'm such a tomboy I can't even open up to the only guy I can probably call a friend.._.' she thought, wondering how confused and or hurt Ryoga might be.

The snapping sounds of robe bindings echoed in Ranko's ear, catching her off guard as she saw the Lost Boy fell to his hands and knees before standing up and dusting himself off. "I'm sorry..."

"Huh...?" Ranko blinked and then looked down to her own bindings, immediately she concentrated her strength in her arms and arched her head back, shifting from side to side, only to see her efforts were in vain.

"Uh... I was going to say I finally got enough rest to break free..."

"Oh..."

"What... did you think...?"

"N-no! I just..."

"It's not important..." Ryoga spoke up, stopping her before she could continue by going over to her and using his bare hands to free her from her literal stone prison.

"Thanks..." Ranko said as she looked off to her side, her face softened when she saw how stern looking Ryoga had become.

Ryoga gave her a nod of his head and looked around the brick room they were in, confirming there were no windows in there. "Hey, Ranko..."

"What?" Ranko asked as she watched Ryoga walking towards the lone door in the room.

He held his hand up to ask her for a second as he pressed his ear to the door and listened carefully, trying to hear if Lotion was around.

"It's been awhile since we've seen or heard from Lotion, right...?" Ryoga asked as he put his hand on the knob in front of him.

"I'm pretty sure..." Ranko nodded.

"Alright then... let's get our stuff first..."

"Then hightail it outta' here, gotcha'..." Ranko nodded her head as Ryoga returned the gesture, turning the knob before quietly leading the two out of the room.

Constantly shifting their eyes from side to side the two friends acted much like a swat team, working together as a single unit. Their eyes trailing the walls for traps, but only seeing some decorative local Chinese knick-knacks, unreadable scrolls hung up on the walls with various pictures of animals and or monks, some probably containing words of wisdom or ways to live one's life, the occasional plant, etc.

As they left what they assumed to be the living room they traveled further into a dining area, themed much like the previous room: minus any scrolls of wisdom and furniture. They didn't need to look any further as on the table in front of them were Ryoga's things taken out of his backpack and aligned as though they had been thoroughly inspected before being placed down.

"Damn it... " Ryoga grumbled as he quickly went to grab his discarded and empty bag, starting with his clothing.

"Paranoid old..." Ranko whined in a low groaning voice, helping her friend by folding his shirts and helped stuff them in when Ryoga would take a moment to fill it some more.

Being on such high alert prompted the two to work faster, their arms moved so fast one had to wonder if they practiced katas for filling backpacks. Finally slipping his arms through the shoulder straps the Lost Boy looked over his shoulder to Ranko as she fastened his sleeping bag to the top of their equipment.

Once done the raven-haired teen reached down to the side of the kitchen table, picking up his umbrella that Lotion had left propped up against the side of the table, facing one another before making their way out.

The door to the strange amazon's house opened slowly, creaking only slightly as Ryoga held it firmly from the inside as it opened inward, the two unwilling houseguests slowly and cautiously peeking their heads out the door to catch any sight of the untrusting Amazonian. One look outside, however, allowed them to see they were standing in what appeared to be a lush green valley, surrounded by large green hills so massive one could easily say they resembled mountains from afar.

Sadly the two were in no position to gaze upon such majesty, given the fact that they had to make sure the coast was clear, Ranko looked to Ryoga with a narrowing of her eyes and took a running stance, Ryoga doing the same as he followed her lead.

Panic arose in their chests whenever they'd hear any strange sounds, clearly not taking an elder like Lotion lightly.

"What is up with this place?" Ranko wondered, feeling like she needed to get that out.

"I don't care, I just want out of it," Ryoga said, sharing the sentiment.

It was at that very moment that Ryoga's eyes widened, looking over his shoulder just in time to catch a glimpse at Lotion, his pupils dilated, watching her move through the air with her leg sticking out from beneath her dress. His body, however, was unable to match the speed of his brain, so he had no choice but to watch in horror as she kicked him with so much force that he was sent flying forward, barely having enough time to even turn around before being sent flying into a boulder, whizzing past a shocked Ranko.

"Ryo!" she shot her head towards her friend in time to see the Lost Boy smack into the large rock behind him.

"Gah!" Ryoga cradled his stomach as he fell to his knees; his gasp for breath had caused him to lose some saliva straight from his mouth.

"You should be worrying about yourself, girl," Lotion spoke calmly and dashed towards Ranko, her feet looking as though they hovered above the ground.

"I've been waitin' for this!" Ranko screamed before unleashing two swift jabs and powerful uppercut following that.

"Then clearly you're far too arrogant," Lotion spoke with calm and narrowed eyes, sidestepping Ranko's first attack, then for Ranko's uppercut she closed her eyes and pulled her head back.

"Says you!" Ranko fired while trying a flurry of kicks, all of which met the top half of Lotion's cane.

Rather than meeting Ranko's banter, the wise elder's eyes remained focused on her target, only further exacerbating Ranko's frustration. "Done yet, child?"

Ryoga's ears rung as he gritted his teeth, the inability to breath plus the pain of having the entire back portion of his body smacked into a boulder with enough force to leave a Lost Boy shaped web of cracks behind. Finally gaining his wits, along with his hearing, he was able to see that Ranko was only managing to hit air rather than land any actual kicks on the old woman.

"Wha?" Ranko's eyes widened as she saw the small woman leap into the air in front of her, using her cane like a makeshift javelin and jabbing the end of it against the pigtailed girl's abdomen.

In the meantime, Ryoga had taken some time to remove his backpack and allowed it to fall to his side, _'Hold on Ranko! I'm coming!'_ he thought with an enraged tone, possibly still fighting off some pain. Doing all this while on his knees, using one hand to help push him up to a standing position while the other helped to keep him from losing balance and resting up against on the fragmented stone behind him.

"Ah!" Ranko wailed before her back crashed up against the Lost Boy's chest.

"Rank-" Ryoga only got so far before feeling the back of Ranko's head slam into his mouth painfully, keeping him from finishing.

Though much like before the force used to launch her was also great, they cried out in pain as Ranko's tiny form collided with Ryoga, as if reminding him to get back in his place. This time, however, he ended up landing on his rear with his arms around the redhead.

"Damn it..." Ranko groaned as she reached up to holding her sore spot.

Lotion watched the two and propped her cane against her shoulder and tilted her head back. "The fact that both of you remained conscious is very impressive."

"A-An' why should we care w-what you think?" Ranko groaned, squinting her eyes.

"R-Ranko..." Ryoga muttered as he brought himself to a standing position, helping his redheaded companion up as well. "We gotta' fight..."

"Save your breath, boy," Lotion spoke up suddenly. "I've noticed something about you two, namely the vast potential you both have."

"What're you gettin' at?" Ranko cautiously inquired, narrowing her eyes slowly.

"I'd like to ask a favor of you two..."

"A favor...? You tie and bound us to frick'in rocks and you want 'us' to do you a favor?" Ryoga asked, his face matching his friend's.

"Who says both sides won't benefit?"

"Messing with you Amazon's is nuthin' but trouble, so I think I'll pass..." Ranko glared, almost looking as though she'd rather choose death at this point.

"After everything we've been through, I'm feeling the same..." Ryoga added as his posture straightened as his strength returning to him as he released Ranko.

"I said that I didn't have reason to trust you before and I still don't but I'm also in need of some assistance, how about in exchange I'll teach you some techniques to use against them?" She offered and much to Lotion's surprise, the response wasn't an immediate no, but rather a moment of calm calculation.

"And if we refuse?" Ryoga asked with a cold stare.

"Well then, I suppose I could just let you stay here for the rest of your natural lives since I still can't trust you and all..."

To think they were being offered power from this person or stuck there to rot possibly, the choice seemed obvious but neither seemed all too happy to know that their journey may take an elongated detour to finding the solution to their problems.

"I mean, you'll both need to be strong enough to go gather materials for your cures, of course..." Lotion commented, smirking slowly as she put her hands up her sleeves.

"Wait, what?" Ranko exclaimed with her eyes wide.

"You can cure both of us?" Ryoga asked, "even me?"

"Yes, your Ki imbalance can be treated but not without some very hard to acquire materials."

"You're telling us you're one of those herbalists, too?" Ranko stared in awe as she clenched her fists. This was certainly unconventional but the idea of getting stronger coupled with the fact that they could get what they needed was honestly too tempting for her.

The Lost Boy found the prospect of getting stronger all too enticing as well; his mind drifting back to Ranma and how he had escaped him. _'I feel strong enough now to take down Saotome but would being even stronger be a bad idea? Even then who knows how strong the jerk's gotten.._.' Ryoga thought with a grimace.

"I don't know why, but I want this so damn bad!" Ranko exclaimed as her spirit shined brightly at the idea of getting stronger, though her ego hadn't allowed her anger to subside yet.

"Dammit, me too!" Ryoga declared as he pumped both of his fists, ignoring the shooting pain in his chest and back. "If training and a cure are what you're offering, I'll take it!"

"Wise choice, children… but now I'll need to really test your skills hands-on, seeing how you're finally more cooperative," she said with a nod, humming to herself with a small smirk on the corner of her wrinkly lips.

* * *

The wind blew gently, caressing Ranko's shiny scarlet hair as she prepared her fighting stance; to her right, Ryoga was doing the same, his fists high both ready to defend and to attack. In front of them stood Lotion, who kept her hands hidden under her oversized sleeves. The old woman was smiling with confidence, something that the teenagers, Ranko in particular, found really aggravating.

"Very well, children, come at me and don't hold back!" the ancient martial artist ordered.

"Don't regret it later, lady!" Ranko said as she rushed at Lotion, throwing a punch aimed at the woman's face with all her strength behind it. "This time things will be different!"

"We're not going to lose!" Ryoga promised, following Ranko's lead unleashing an attack of his own.

Lotion simply smirked at the threats and waited until the last moment before dodging, jumping up and landing on Ryoga's head. She quickly produced an iron lance from her sleeves, which she used to hit Ranko in the right arm and then stab it between Ryoga's shoulder blades, using this to propel herself several meters away from both teens.

"You waste too much energy in useless attacks," she judged as she landed. "But I'm sure you can do better, try again."

Ranko, her left hand over her bruised right arm, frowned as she struggled to hide the wave of pain that was going up and down from her shoulder all the way to her hand but she really didn't need to. Ryoga was too busy hiding the hurt he felt all over his back to notice his friend's discomfort.

"We gotta do something different," Ranko said then. "I'm blank right now…. any ideas, Ryo?"

"Maybe. Can you distract her for a bit?" He asked. "I want to try something."

"I'll try," she promised. "Whatever you'll do, don't take too long,"

Saying nothing more, Ranko again dashed at the old woman, but this time she decided to slide at the last second, which forced Lotion to jump. That was just what Ranko wanted, as she quickly used her good arm to propel herself up, twisting both legs in a way that helped her deliver two raising kicks in Lotion's direction, a maneuver that actually forced the old woman to pull her cane out of her sleeves in order to block Ranko's feet.

"That was almost decent, girl," Lotion appreciated as she landed a few steps away. "You're clever."

And that was when a shadow appeared on top of the ancient martial artist, who quickly looked up with her eyes open in surprise. Ryoga was descending on her, his umbrella ready to strike! Lotion barely had time to move out of the way and was honestly surprised by the small crater the boy created when he impacted, umbrella first, on the ground.

Lotion had to admit she would have felt that if it had connected.

"That was also almost decent, boy," she appreciated with a nod. "Not bad at all, children. You two have tons of raw potential, indeed."

The old woman noticed the teenagers were preparing to attack her again so she brought her index finger up and then down, gently touching the ground, a move which caused it to explode all around her, dust and pebbles bursting with incredible force and blowing both Ranko and Ryoga away.

"What… what was that?" Ryoga coughed as he struggled to get up again, his body hurting all over after being showered with small stones and grains of dust.

"I don't… ack… know…" Ranko managed to get out, also coughing out the dirt in her mouth. She was as battered as he was, and was having far more trouble than him getting back up.

"That was the Bakusai Tenketsu, and I know now which one of you I'm going to teach it to," Lotion said once the dust settled. "In fact, I have a good idea of how to train the two of you. We'll start tomorrow, once you're rested."

Ranko and Ryoga shared a look, neither of them liked the tone of Lotion's voice, both thinking that maybe training with this old woman was not such a good idea after all…

 _Early the following day…_

Ryoga wiped the sweat off his brow as he finally finished pushing the last of the fifty large boulders Lotion had demanded he moved from the lowest point of the valley to the highest. He had spent the early morning hours busy with this chore and his shoulders and legs were protesting a little, but he didn't mind; he in fact appreciated the exercise and imagined it was part of the training. He looked ahead and smiled as he saw Ranko sitting cross-legged on top of one boulder. She noticed him looking and smiled back, sliding off the large rock to go meet him.

"Where's Lotion?" He asked. After all, the old woman had been constantly supervising him, that being the reason why he hadn't gotten lost so far.

"She's over there," Ranko informed and pointed behind Ryoga at the base of the hill he had just climbed. "She said you had to go back down so she could give you instructions."

"Figures," he groaned. "Are you coming?"

"Nah, she asked me to stay up here," Ranko said, leaning on one of the massive rocks. "It's kind of unfair I don't get to learn this technique, you know? I don't understand why the old bat says it's better suited for you."

"I'm sure she has her reasons," Ryoga sighed as he started on his way back down. "I guess we'll see."

"Ryoga…" she called with a chuckle.

"What?"

"The other way?" Ranko laughed and pointed left. "I swear that joke's getting old, man, still funny, though."

Ryoga laughed nervously and scratched the back of his head as he corrected course. A joke she thought this was. Perhaps it was for the best, and maybe, Ryoga hoped, he could find a cure for it soon enough. But first, he had to complete Lotion's training.

It didn't take long for the Lost Boy to reach the spot where Lotion waited. The elder was simply standing next to a large set of rocks that Ryoga had been unable to move earlier.

"I imagine you've figured out now what the Ki imbalance is doing to you, boy?" she asked.

"…To be honest, I was hoping you would tell me," he said, glad Ranko was too far away to hear the conversation. "I guess it's bad, so can you really help me with it?"

"I can, but we'll deal with that later. Don't worry, boy; I'll keep my word and help you," the old woman promised with a nod. "Anyway, I noticed your body produces Ki in quantities that are surprisingly high for an average person; that, coupled with your raw strength and stamina, makes you a perfect candidate for the Bakusai Tenketsu training."

"I won't forget you promised," Ryoga warned, then looked back up the hill. "Alright, since I'm the perfect candidate for that technique of yours, I guess we should just start. What do I do?"

"You saw how I used the tip of my finger to cause that explosion, right?"

"Yeah… so?"

"I did that by finding the breaking point of that portion of ground under my feet," she explained sagely. "Everything inanimate in this world has a breaking point and if you find it, you can then use it to cause an explosive chain reaction that will destroy any object. All you need to do is to pay attention and then when you find it, touch that spot and drive a small amount of your ki into it. It's quite simple."

"And I do that… how?"

"We'll start with this…" Lotion sneered and pulled a set of chains from her sleeves.

 _A few minutes later…_

"Are you sure this is fine?" Ranko asked Lotion as the two looked down to where Ryoga, now chained to the large rocks stood. The boy was still screaming his displeasure in very… colorful ways and the redhead was starting to doubt this training was safe. "I mean, you're going to push these rocks down the slope so they hit him, right?"

"Yes," Lotion said.

"Won't he be hurt once he's sandwiched between them?" She asked with a frown.

"Yes," Lotion repeated and pushed one of the rocks with the tip of her cane. "That's the idea."

"But…"

The rock rolled loudly down the hill, smashing into Ryoga with incredible force.

"That's crazy!" Ranko complained, ready to rush to her friend's side.

"Stop, if you help him he'll never learn the technique!" Lotion warned. "Is that what you want?"

"I don't want him hurt!" She argued.

"And how would he feel if he knows you're the reason why he failed to master the Bakusai Tenketsu?" the elder asked.

Ranko's eyes lowered after hearing those words. She thought she knew Ryoga well enough to understand he wouldn't be pleased.

"Fine, old ghoul," she sighed, "go ahead, keep your stupid training going."

"Hey!" Ryoga called then from below, he had managed to use his right hand and arm, the only parts of his body not chained to the rocks, to push the large boulder to the side. The Lost Boy was certainly in pain, but he could take this and more, and he was now determined to learn this trick, as he was certain it could give him an edge in his future fight with Ranma. "I don't have all day to figure this thing out, throw another one at me!"

Lotion smiled, pleased by the young man's determination and with another tip of her cane, sent the second boulder rolling down, where it crashed into Ryoga with incredible force.

"Again!" Ryoga demanded after he pushed the boulder crushing him out of the way.

Ranko flinched as the boulders kept hitting Ryoga one after the other, until she had to turn the other way, finding that seeing him getting hurt was making her feel uncomfortable to the point where she simply had to walk a few steps away, sit down and cover her ears so she wouldn't hear the sound of rock crashing into rock. Why was she worrying so much for Ryoga's wellbeing, however?

" _Because he's my friend… and friends care for each other… right?_ " Ranko realized. " _Well, Ryoga, I'm actually sorry for you._ "

"Your training won't be so painful," Lotion called as she pushed down yet another boulder. "But that doesn't mean it will be any easier."

 _And that afternoon…_

Ryoga was sitting, his back against one of the many trees, as he observed Ranko receiving instructions from Lotion. The Lost Boy was sore all over, but he felt pleased that he had managed to poke several holes in one of the boulders, as that meant he was getting closer to unlocking the secret behind the Bakusai Tenketsu. He still had long to go, however, as he hadn't spotted the breaking point yet, even if he had tried feeling for it the way Lotion had instructed him, but he was confident he would get the hang of it soon. He yawned into his fist then and forced himself to pay attention to what Ranko was doing, wouldn't be polite to miss her training, since she had been there for his.

"Why are we standing next to this campfire again?" Ranko asked, standing at a prudent distance of the fire Lotion had started, remembering that she couldn't really tolerate heat very well.

"I have an acorn tree here in the valley, I planted it fifty-seven years ago," she said and showed Ranko twelve acorns. "I collected these yesterday; we're going to use them for your training; to you, I will teach the Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken, I'm confident you can master it."

"Ok… so how do I learn it?"

"Like this," Lotion said and tossed the acorns into the fire; she let them stay there for a few seconds and then took them all out so fast her hands were nothing but a colored blur.

"What was that?" the redhead gasped, "How… I mean?"

"Nobody can be so fast!" Ryoga said from where he sat, feeling as impressed as Ranko was.

"Well, you certainly can't, boy. But she can," Lotion said, nodding at Ranko. "Unlike you, she's very fast and precise, and she's far more technical than you, who are strong, resilient and full of stamina. I'm playing to your strengths here, children."

Ranko beamed with pride at the praise and smiled smugly learning there were things she could do that Ryoga couldn't, not that she didn't know that already, but it was good to hear someone like Lotion confirming it. She conveniently ignored the fact that there were things Ryoga could do that she couldn't, as that detail didn't feed her ego and could easily be discarded.

Besides, she was the more technical of the two, Lotion herself had admitted it.

"Alright, girl, I'm tossing the acorns back into the fire," the old woman said. "Ready?"

Ranko hesitated for an instant then she steeled her resolve and nodded. "Yeah, do it."

And so Lotion did, and Ranko tried.

And failed spectacularly; the moment her hands got close to the flames, an intense pain shot through her whole body, forcing her to flinch in a way that caused her shirt to caught fire, which in turn panicked her and she started running in circles until the fire was out, leaving her smoking and scorched, feeling sore from head to toe and glaring at Ryoga, who was up and approaching her, in a way that sent him a very clear message: ' _Laugh at me and I'll kill you_ '.

Luckily for the Lost Boy, he got the hint and simply stood there; ready to help in case she was hurt.

"Something wrong, girl?" Lotion asked. "I thought for sure you would be able to get at least two acorns out on your first try."

"I don' like fire," Ranko growled. "Gotta problem with it?"

"No, but if that's the case we'll have to find a different way for you to master this technique," the old master said with a thoughtful expression until something above them caught her eye. "Say… how do you feel about wasps?"

"Wait… wasps?"

Before Ranko could say more, Lotion threw an acorn at a wasp hive, angering the aggressive insects into attacking the person directly under their home, and that person was none other than Ranko.

"Knock all the wasps out without getting stung!" Lotion ordered, igniting her aura to keep the angry insects away from her and by extension Ryoga, who was standing behind her. "That will be your training exercise!"

"I won't forget this!" Ranko shouted as she tried her best to ward of the cloud of malicious bugs, not being all too successful in the end, getting stung so many times before the wasps returned to their hive that her whole body ended up being swollen and sore. "Ya said my trainin' wouldn't be painful… you stinkin', lyin' monkey…"

"Your fault for being afraid of fire, but you did get twenty wasps; fairly decent for a first try," Lotion said, lifting her cane to stop Ryoga from helping Ranko up. "No, don't, let her do it on her own; this is part of her training."

"But…" Ryoga started, but was forced to wait until Ranko managed to sit by herself.

"We'll continue tomorrow," Lotion declared then, heading back to her home. "I'll cook us something to eat, after that, you kids can sleep or do whatever you want except leaving this valley."

* * *

A loud thunking noise followed by the sound of splitting wood echoed throughout Lotion's home; from the front yard but just a little off to the side was Ryoga, deep in thought as he raised the ax he'd been given from the cutting stump.

"Ki imbalance... what could that mean? I wonder if she meant..." Ryoga muttered before looking up and around for the pile of wood, spotting it easily before taking another piece and then chucking it on the stump, landing it in a cutting position, getting back to it he used one hand to straighten it out.

"Whatever it is..." Ryoga paused as he sniffed the air and then closed his eyes. "I must be hungry..." Ryoga admitted to himself as put his hand on his stomach and with about as much effort as a child at handling an inflatable hammer, the Lost Boy chopped his latest piece.

Gentle steam clouds wafted into the air as they flew up to Ranko's nostrils. The redhead was pleased with her labor and had to admit that this cooking stuff had not been as boring as she had initially imagined. Her previous experience in that Inn's kitchen hadn't been pleasant and more of a chore, but this time she had actually enjoyed herself somewhat.

"Hm... smells about right, I think..." she said moving her head away and looking to her right she poured some stew into a bowl with a wooden ladle.

"Add a little more spice child, helps balance the flavor a little more..." she said standing on a footstool next to the redhead while holding the bowl Ranko had just poured, sampling it before reaching for the spice herself and adding it into her serving.

"Fine..." Ranko mumbled, looking as though she was pouting in annoyance as she tried to swipe the shaker from Lotion, only for the aged master to move her hand out of the way before the girl could take it from her.

"Here..." she said, willingly handing it over herself.

Ranko's eye twitched as she saw that she wasn't even able to get back at the old woman in anyway.

"Thanks..." she replied, clearly not meaning it as she took the shaker with forced respect.

Back outside the Lost Boy had found himself feeling rather bored from chopping wood for so long or what felt like so long considering the only thing he was left to was his thoughts, _'I wonder if they're going to call me come inside to eat or if that old bag will make Ranko do it...'_ Ryoga thought, his inner voice suddenly becoming shy he finished his thought.

Living up to his name in a metaphorical sense, Ryoga's mind began to wander as he thought back to when he first saw Ranko in her maid's uniform during their time working at the inn. The way her dressed complimented her hair and eyes, how cute she looked despite being completely opposed to wearing such a girly looking thing, his mind became further engrossed as he envisioned Ranko serving him a bowl of steamy soup smiling in her oh-so-coy way.

"I-I wish..." Ryoga whispered as actual steam clouds flew off the top of his head.

"Wish what?" Ranko asked as she stood behind him with a tray and two bowls.

"Ranko! W-we're not eating inside?" Ryoga questioned, hoping to change the subject.

Figuring it wasn't important and with how hungry she herself was getting she decided not to prod and shrugged.

"Figured we could eat outside in the back," she explained pointing behind her with one hand before bringing it back onto the tray.

Ryoga could tell by her look of contempt that she wasn't all too into spending time with Lotion, unsurprising after what she did during their training the day before.

"A break from you know who?" Ryoga guessed as he stuck his large axe into the stump in front of him.

"Come on, let's go eat..." Ranko suggested as she looked over her shoulder and to the brick home behind her.

The two had gone out back and had taken to sitting on a large log that had been propped near the wall, the tray to Ryoga's right and Ranko to his left. There was an odd sort of harmony as the two ate, both focused as though they were some married couple doing a routine.

"Ah..." Ryoga sighed in satisfaction from drinking down all his stew's broth.

"That hits the spot..." Ranko mumbled closed eyes and a content but somewhat goofy smile. "And no picky Amazon to deal with..."

"For now at least..." Ryoga said as he looked down to his empty bowl and placed it on the tray next to him.

"Put mine on it too, would ya'?" Ranko asked handing over her now empty bowl too.

"Alright," Ryoga said, taking it and stacking it on top of his, dropping his spoon in with hers on the top.

Without even knowing what the other was doing they looked up to the sky and stared at the clouds drifting by, something about it was just simplistic but oddly beautiful about it all. Ryoga peeked over to Ranko from the corner of his eye and saw the wind gently sway Ranko's hair and bangs, a confident smile crossing her face. It was certainly nice and to know that she had recovered from the wasp attack and that she was strong enough to still smile after the grueling training they started the previous day. Well, it irked at him to think he may have been the cause of her pain.

"Ranko, I'm sorry about falling into that pit..." Ryoga admitted, dropping his head and closing his eyes looking as though he was asking for her forgiveness.

"H-Hey man! Don't sweat it, it's fine," Ranko assured as she reached back to him and patted his back. "Besides, we're getting free lessons outta' this, plus thanks to this I think I get why you want to get back at this Ranma guy, cause I gotta' say, I got a bone to pick with those Amazons and their Herbalist pals..."

"You want to get revenge on an entire village?"

"What? No! Just the ones after us... is all," Ranko clarified.

"Oh..." Ryoga calmed down, though, he had to wonder if it was a good thing that Ranko had learned that from him.

"And we're getting free food, a roof over our heads and…" Ranko continued but found a warm but confident smile growing on her face. "Who says we can't book it when we're strong enough either?"

"I guess we could make a run for it when she sends us to do whatever favor it is she wants," Ryoga commented.

"Exactly," Ranko confirmed.

They shared a smile between them as they felt some hope in one another's eyes, before turning back to look at the distance, finally getting the time to appreciate their surrounds. Wind blow gently and whispered to them as it tickled their faces and blew their hair, the sounds of the wildlife distant but only adding to the tranquil atmosphere around them.

"Hey, Ryoga..." Ranko spoke up suddenly as she leaned the back of her head on the brick wall behind her and crossed one leg over the other.

"What's up, Ranko?" Ryoga asked, looking over at her as he had just taken his eyes off the fluffy white pillows in the sky.

"After everything that's happened, it hasn't been too bad traveling with you," Ranko admitted as she appeared to have a thoughtful look on her face as she remembered the moment she meant him and all the things they had been through.

"R-Really?" Ryoga blushed as he panicked inwardly, trying to think of something to say but finding it hard as his heartbeat felt loud enough to even interrupt his thoughts.

The change in Ryoga's voice reached Ranko and now she too was losing courage.

"Y-yeah, you've almost been downright cool sometimes, man..." she swallowed as she reached one hand over to Ryoga to punch his shoulder, trying to bring back a calm air with a warm smile.

"I've got to admit it's nice having you around too," Ryoga swallowed as he chuckled somewhat nervously after, a slight coloring of pink to his cheeks.

"Ya' sure it ain't just cause I'm prettier than most of the girls you've seen?" Ranko smiled like a Cheshire cat as she saw her opportunity to tease her friend.

"W-What? N-No! I swear-" Ryoga tried to defend as he held his hands out in front of him.

"Pfft! Bwahaha! Oh, man, the look on your face!" Ranko laughed in joy.

Upon hearing Ranko's laughter the Lost Boy blushed in embarrassment before closing his eyes shut and swallowing hard.

"M-Maybe I do t-think that, huh?" Ryoga exclaimed as he turned his torso to face her.

Ranko's laughter died so quickly it was almost as if someone had hit the pause button on her, she blinked twice as Ryoga's words danced in her ears. She didn't know why but she too had adjusted her torso to face his, she looked off to the side as she blushed, _'I know I was just playin' but...'_ she thought before looking back up to Ryoga who seemed to have calmed down enough to realize the implications of his words.

"Uh... Ranko I, uh..." Ryoga stammered as he struggled to find his words as his eyes met Ranko's.

The two stared at one another, neither certain as to what to say at the current moment. Their breathing became shallow as they continued to get lost in one another's eyes, neither saying a thing.

"Ranko..." Ryoga whispered as he reached his hand up, gently touching Ranko's hair from her side and trailing it down to her cheek only to stop just short of doing so.

"R-Ryoga...?" Ranko spoke but sounded more like she was hesitantly asking him a question, _'He's so cute but kinda' good lookin' too, is this okay...? That I want to give in so badly? I could hurt him and-and...'_ she pursed her lips before allowing them to relax as she noticed Ryoga's mouth going slightly agape as she felt his hand caress her cheek; she even wanted to nuzzle her head against his hand but was far too shy to actually do so but the thought had certainly crossed her mind.

"Lunch break is over, it's time to train for you two!" Lotion's voice echoed from her home.

Having the moment ruined so thoroughly from her interruption the two came to their senses and moving as though she had suddenly appeared in front of them they parted, hands on their knees, their eyes rolling before coming to a stop.

 _'I can't believe I almost...! With Ryoga and...! He's so...'_ Ranko blushed as she shook her head, breathing in deeply to catch her breath.

 _'Why's he so damn charming!?'_

* * *

 _Meanwhile, far away from Lotion's valley…_

Tong Po harbor was a busy port town, were people from several villages in the Bayankara Mountains came to shop, trade or have a good time in its many bars and restaurants; it is in one of these establishments where we find a certain group of Joketsuzoku amazons, sitting in a roundtable and enjoying, or trying to at least, their meals. Their mood was far from festive, as they had yet to find any clues that would lead them to find and capture the redheaded teenager that had escaped their village a few days before.

They had reasoned that the girl may try to leave China, and since Tong Po harbor was the only place in the area where she could have rented or find her way into a boat, they had gone there the night before, but after asking and searching, they had, once again, failed to find any leads on hints to the redhead's whereabouts.

"So this is where you were," a beautiful, blue-haired woman in her mid-thirties said as she approached the Amazon group. "I should have known you would be wasting time in a bar."

The group stood up at once and bowed as a sign of respect, as they all knew who this woman was and was certain she could flatten them out with incredible ease.

"Apologies for not reporting earlier!" One said.

"We were going to do that after eating," another added quickly.

"Well, that won't be necessary anymore," the blue-haired woman said her arms crossed as she shook her head in disappointment. "My dear Shampoo and two of Ginseng's disciples will be in charge of finding the redheaded girl, and I'm confident my daughter will be able to complete the mission soon."

"I suppose she can do it," one of the women agreed, feeling glad this assignment was over for them. "Well, if that's the case then what should we do?"

"You are to return to the village with me today, recent reports indicate the Musk Dynasty has been acting strange lately and Cologne thinks it's best to prepare our defenses, just in case," Shampoo's mother explained. "Finish your food and meet me at the town square in an hour."

 _And somewhere else in the forest…_

The hooded figure jumped down from the tree branch where she had been relaxing and nervously looked around as she used her cunning sense of smell to confirm what she had detected only seconds before. She uttered a curse as the scent she detected meant danger, a danger she had no intention to face alone. Nervous, she glanced to the left and then to the right, hoping to find a place to hide and luckily, she discovered a deep hole between the massive roots of a tall tree. Hurrying, she entered the small cave and pressed against the muddy wall, praying that those she smelled approaching would not see her.

"There's a strange smell…" Mint said as he and Lime walked near the hole where the hooded woman was hiding. "Yeah, something near… smells like… a woman… maybe we should look around a bit."

"We can't," Lime said. "We must get to Tong Po harbor today. What if we waste time here and that redheaded thief escapes by boat? We can't let her or the boy helping her escape with Herb's royal ring!"

"I guess you're right," Mint nodded. "It's probably nothing, there is a town nearby so I'm sure many women use this road; I'm sure that's what I smell."

The two friends stretched and then resumed walking, their steps fading quickly. A few minutes later, the woman in the dark hood finally dared climb out of her hideout. She had heard everything Mint and Lime said, and that information alarmed her. Worried, she checked her pockets and the bag hanging from her hip. The ring was not there!

"I… I lost it!" She whispered. "And that other girl in the cabin surely picked it up and now she's in danger… and not just her but also one of her friends or maybe her brother, too!"

She pulled back her hood, revealing her shiny auburn hair and sat on a large, thick root. Things were not supposed to get this complicated, and now innocents were in danger because of her.

"What am I gonna do now?" she asked the forest around her. "This shouldn't be happening!"

 _And in the Amazon village…_

Genma finished his third bowl of ramen and handed it back to the fairly attractive amazon who was in charge of bringing him food. The Saotome patriarch bowed in gratitude and offered the woman his most charming smile as he did so. Genma, you see, was no stranger to the game of seduction; after all, he had managed to convince Nodoka, a woman everyone had considered far above his league, to marry him and bear him a son, that he loved his wife had helped him then, of course, but the point here is that Genma Saotome knew a thing or two about women, and getting on the good side of the woman in charge of bringing him his meals had not been all that difficult.

That he had impressed many of them when he fought them in his panda form several days ago had also helped him, though he wasn't aware of it.

He kept smiling until the Amazon left his room, and once alone moved to sit next to the window, wondering again what was taking his son so long. He ran a hand over his bald head and wished Ranma hurried, because he had already sent Soun Tendo a letter mentioning they would be in Japan soon, and Genma was not going to break the promise he had made his best friend so many years ago; not when his retirement depended on it.

"Your child has been far more resourceful than we anticipated," Cologne said as she entered the room, sitting in front of Genma. The elder reached for a box of matches and lighted her pipe, taking a deep breath, enjoying the taste of tobacco mixed with other herbs. "But we'll capture him sooner or later."

Genma nodded and accepted the cigarette box and the lighter the ancient Amazon was now offering him. He took one out, lighted it and relaxed on his seat. Resourceful, huh? Yeah, that sounded like his son alright, and explained why Ranma was taking so long. He probably was busy hiding from the amazons and preparing a cunning plan to get him out of this mess.

Cologne, of course, didn't need to know that, so Genma simply enjoyed his cigarette in silence.

* * *

Dr Facer: And here it is… chapter 5! We're starting the second arc of the story here, and some pieces of the puzzle will finally start to fall into place. Some surprises are on the way and we sure hope you'll like them, thank you for reading and your continued support!

DaisukiFox: Here's to another finished chapter! Thank you all for supporting this story, we hope we can continue bringing you guys new content. Really, this is a dream come true... even if it's not something many would consider something to be proud of. It's a passion and a need to express ourselves that brings us here... to consider the different. Not see the world as a straight line but a system of roads leading us to our own ending.

And sometimes those roads can intersect with others...

Anyways...

 _ **Thinking outside the box, inside the box~**_

 _ **KiyomuMitsue~**_


	6. Chapter 6

**Lost Together Chapter 6**

 **By: Dr. Fox**

 **Disclaimer: (Both of us) Do not own Ranma 1/2! Ranma 1/2 is owned by Rumiko Takahashi and Viz Media! Please support the official release!**

 **Dr Facer:** Hello! This chapter marks the beginning of the new arc in the story, there's an important development in this episode that I'm sure many of you may find a bit surprising. I hope you enjoy it, and please let us know what you thought!

 **DaisukiFox** : We really hope you guys enjoy our work! I know there's something a few fans have wanted to happen will happen... read and find out! XD

* * *

"Well, it took five days but we're finally here," Mousse announced with a relieved sigh, stopping to drop his heavy backpack to the ground and staring at the eerie terrain in front of him. "Jusenkyo."

"And if there's a clue about that stupid fake woman, we'll surely find it!" Shampoo declared with a pleased grin. She hoped the guide had heard something about Genma's plans after visiting the cursed springs, and if he hadn't, they should at least be able to look at the guestbook to know where he came from.

"Strange… there's nobody here," Mousse said, adjusting his glasses and listening attentively as he looked at his surroundings. "The guide should be around the entrance but it seems he isn't."

"Well, it _is_ early," Shampoo told him. "He's probably still at home, let's go visit him. I've heard he lives somewhere deeper in Jusenkyo, we shouldn't have trouble finding his house."

"If you insist," the young man agreed.

 _Behind them…_

"We could have gotten here days ago if she hadn't insisted on visiting every farm and looking at all the roads in the area," Pink whispered to her sister, hoping Shampoo couldn't hear her complaining.

"I really don't want to be here," Link muttered back, her voice tinted with fear. "What if we fall in one of those cursed springs? It would be horrible!"

"Stop gossiping and come with us!" Shampoo interrupted then, noticing the twins weren't paying attention.

"And be careful, you don't want to have any accidents here," Mousse warned.

Having no other choice but to obey, Pink and Link again lamented their misfortune and followed behind Mousse and Shampoo, paying close attention to where they stood.

Walking through the muddy, slippery dirt roads that circled the dangerous ponds of cursed water was not a simple task if you were not familiar with the terrain and knew where and how to step. The Amazon teenagers knew about this having heard of such difficulties from the adults in their village and were having a relatively easy time making their way through Jusenkyo, even if Mousse had to keep his glasses on and make sure he stayed close enough to Shampoo to avoid any missteps. The herbalist twins, on the other hand, had no such advantage, which meant every step they took had to be as slow and calculated as possible, and there were moments when both girls felt it would be safer to simply crawl to their destination.

Finally, after several minutes traversing the treacherous terrain, following the only telephone line above them as a way to locate the guide's cabin, the four teenagers arrived to the relatively high and dry area where the man lived. His small house was actually picturesque and well built, and more than enough for him, his wife and their daughter.

"Hi, my name is Plum!" a girl greeted, walking out of the house to meet the new customers with a polite smile. Plum had for a moment considered staying inside, since she had heard the Musk Dynasty had been acting strange recently but after peeking and seeing only four teenagers she figured it was safe to help them a bit. "What brings you travelers to Jusenkyo?"

"We're looking for the guide," Shampoo said. "Where is he?"

"My father and mother went to visit my uncle," Plum said. "They will return in a few hours, you can wait for them here if you want to."

"We don't," Link said before Shampoo or Mousse could speak. "In fact, it would be best if we leave this place before something bad happens to us if you please?"

"My sister's right, we have no need to be here any longer!" Pink stated.

"Shut up you two!" Shampoo snapped, staring at the twins so fiercely they paled in fear. "If the guide isn't here then we'll at least have a look at the guestbook."

"Yeah, can we do that?" Mousse asked Plum. "It would be really helpful.

"I'm not sure…" the girl blinked, not sure her father would approve. "It's not a common request."

"Let us see it if you please?" Link said, smiling and trying to sound as nice as possible. "It would really help us."

Staring at the four teenagers, Plum took in a deep breath, sighed and then shrugged. It wouldn't hurt if she let them read the book, would it? Besides, she was starting to think these four visitors were trouble, and she didn't want to get involved in anything that could end up being problematic.

"Oh, well, you have to register anyway," she said and walked back to her house. "Please follow me. Would you like something to drink? I can reheat some tea if you want."

 _A few minutes later…_

Shampoo stared hard at the pages as if by doing so she would be able to change the information written in them into what she desired. She was feeling incredibly frustrated and wondered why the guide had even accepted this. Did they not have any sort of rules and regulations regarding what visitors to Jusenkyo had to write when they registered?

"What is it?" Mousse asked.

"There's nothing useful in the guestbook, I imagine," Link guessed.

"I just can't believe this!" Shampoo groaned as she showed Mousse the page where Genma had scribbled his name. "It's… it's so stupid!"

Adjusting his glasses, Mousse grabbed the guestbook and read out loud.

"Name: Genma Saotome. Age: Confidential. Address: Somewhere in Japan."

Frowning, Mousse read the line directly below Genma's information.

"Name: Ranma Saotome. Age: 16. Address: I live with my pop."

He slowly put the guestbook back on the table and stared at Plum.

"Is this a joke?" He asked.

"No, it's not," the girl said feeling a bit ashamed. "I'm sorry if it isn't what you wanted, but my dad can't read Japanese and we didn't know what that man and his son wrote until my mom looked at the book later that day."

"We came all the way here for this?" Pink exclaimed, so upset she no longer cared if Shampoo got angry. "You could have asked this information to that man in your own village, there was no need to visit Jusenkyo!"

"My sister does have a point; this was a waste of time, if you please," Link seconded. "We put ourselves in danger for nothing."

"Well, at least now we know Genma and Ranma aren't particularly honest…" Mousse opined, trying to decide what to do next. The only places they hadn't gone yet were Mount Phoenix and the Musk territory, and he honestly didn't want to visit them unless Shampoo asked him.

"What now?" Pink asked with an exasperated huff. "Where are you dragging us now, to a pit of snakes or a tiger's den? I can't think of many places more dangerous than Jusenkyo!"

"Jusenkyo isn't that dangerous…" Plum said in a low voice but was ignored by the four quarreling teenagers.

"I would very much appreciate if you let us go back home if you please," Link added. "We've done all you've asked so far, I think we deserve to be released."

"What my sister said!" Pink added. "And your ideas have gotten us nowhere so far, I bet we could do better on our own!"

Shampoo was not in a good mood, and the twins' accusations were not helping improve her disposition at all. Frowning, the young Amazon turned to look at Pink and Link. It seemed that she would punch them into a pulp right there, but she instead sucked in a deep breath and then smiled a friendly, polite smile at them.

"We have nothing else to do here, let's go back home," Shampoo announced. "Thank you for your help, Plum."

And saying nothing more, Shampoo walked out of the cabin, the other three teenagers hurrying to follow her.

 _Not too long after…_

They were walking through a clearing, Jusenkyo behind them. The twins walked with their eyes glued to Shampoo's back; the amazon's peaceful behavior was unnatural, and it was driving a stake of fear through their chests. What was Shampoo planning?

"Pink, Link…" Shampoo called, making a sudden stop. "You want to go back to Yakusai, right?"

"Yes!" both twins nodded. "Can we, if you please?"

"Of course you can!" the purple haired girl smiled. "As long as you swear you'll keep looking for that redheaded fake-woman and that other boy. And that you will report anything you find to my family in Joketsuzoku."

"We swear!" Link promised.

"Of course we do!" Pink agreed.

"Excellent," Shampoo said approaching the twins with a grin so vicious it make the two other girls sweat cold, "most excellent!"

"Ah…" Link started. "You… you're angry, aren't you?"

"But we didn't do anything bad!" Pink said.

"You embarrassed me in front of the Jusenkyo guide's daughter!" Shampoo hissed, unleashing her fury at last. "That is unforgivable!"

"We didn't mean to!" Pink and Link screamed, trembling with terror. "Forgive us, if you please!"

"It's too late to apologize! So you wanted to go home? Fine, let me help you!" Shampoo yelled, dashing at the twins to deliver a powerful roundhouse kick that sent both Pink and Link flying in the direction of Yakusai. "And you better report to my mother if you see that stupid redhead!"

"We won't forget this, Shampooooo!" Pink managed to scream back, her voice fading as she and her twin vanished in the distance.

"Feeling better?" Mousse asked, hands under his sleeves as he shook his head, thinking Shampoo had overreacted but knowing it was best to just let her vent for the time being.

"Much better," she said.

"What do you want to do now?"

"Visit Musk territory," she said, gravely staring at the road ahead. "Most farmers told us they were acting strange so we may be able to hear something useful. Perhaps they captured our redheaded friend, don't you think?"

"No, I don't think so," Mousse answered, thoughtful. "But I guess it's worth a look."

And so, the two teenagers took the road into the mountain range where the Musk castle was…

* * *

The intermittent buzzing of a few hundred stunned wasps rose from the ground, and the smiling redhead standing in the middle of the defeated swarm of aggressive insects could not hold back a prideful laugh as she pumped her right fist up, celebrating her recent victory.

"They're all down and I didn't get stung once! I finally did it!" she announced and then cleared the area around her covered by the grounded wasps with a light and graceful leap, landing right in front of Lotion. "I completed your training!"

"I can see that you did," the ancient woman said. "I must admit I'm impressed. You really are something else, Ranko."

"I am, ain't I?" she chuckled. Ranko then looked at Ryoga, who was staring at her with a surprised expression on his face. "Who'd have thunk it, Ryo? I finally did it, I learned the Amaguriken!"

"Yeah, congratulations, Ranko, that was impressive!" the young Hibiki said, still quite amazed by the speed Ranko had exhibited just a moment ago, when she moved her arms so fast they became a blur around her, dropping wasps left and right with incredible speed.

"So I guess that means I'm better'n you…" she teased, leaning forward to him with a toothy smirk.

"What…?" Royga who had been considering Ranko looked very cute right then, took immediate offense at having his martial arts skills underestimated. "I'll have you know I am very close to learning the Bakusai Tenketsu!"

"Doesn't count, I did it first!" she boasted with a somewhat arrogant sneer.

"Only because you started training before me today!" he growled, his wounded pride burning like a torch. "Well, you'll see, I will learn my technique today or my name is not Hibiki Ryoga!"

"Oh? If you can't then I'll have'ta give you a new name," Ranko grinned. "Somethin' cute you know? Hey, I know! You'll be Hibiki Charlotte!"

"That… that sounds like a pet pig's name!" the lost boy complained, knowing quite well Ranko would not stop calling him that if she had the chance. "But it'll never happen… Lotion, let's start training now!"

Despite herself, the old woman couldn't hold back a chuckle, thinking that maybe these children were starting to grow on her. She had to admit teaching them was a nice change of pace, even fun at times. It also made her wish she could teach her own great-grandson some of her techniques, but maybe soon she would finally have the opportunity to give that boy some training.

"Well, since you're so eager…" she said as she pointed at the boulders Ryoga used for practice, "start rolling those rocks uphill!"

 _A few hours later…_

The boulder was about to hit him, it would be a matter of seconds now. Ryoga, chained again to a tall rock, gritted his teeth and closed his eyes. He was trying to do the thing Lotion had instructed him and while he could now properly feel the point of fracture in the approaching rock, he still couldn't completely locate it, because it always smashed him before he could.

He remembered then Ranko's words about being better than him and how she would call him 'Charlotte' if he couldn't master his technique. Ryoga wouldn't admit it, but being below Ranko in martial arts was torturing him in ways he hadn't experienced since Ranma Saotome used to surpass him every day during recess. Ryoga could actually live with not being the best, but he hated when people teased him about not being good enough. Besides, how could he stand as a trustworthy man beside Ranko if she surpassed him? If she really got stronger than him, she may even decide she didn't need his help anymore and then she would leave him!

The young Hibiki found the idea of losing Ranko's friendship too painful to consider, so he instead returned his attention to the approaching boulder. The breaking point appeared in his mind then, clear and shiny. All he had to do was to make sure he didn't lose it and…

He shot his right arm forward, making sure to infuse some of his ki into the tip of his index finger, hoping for the best and then…

The boulder exploded sending pebbles flying all around!

Ryoga, who received most of the blast, was surprised the rocky shrapnel hadn't even stung him. He wondered why, but before he could find an answer, Ranko's loud congratulations captured his attention. He looked up and saw she was rushing down the slope, her face adorned with a big grin as she waved at him. It seemed she was actually happy to see he had learned his technique.

' _She's… she's so pretty…'_ Ryoga thought with a smile, realizing then he was starting to feel more than friendship for Ranko and finding that even if that would complicate things, he actually didn't mind.

"Well done, Charlotte!" Ranko said when she finally bounced next to her friend. She laughed and then pressed her index finger to his nose. "Oh, you should see your face now, Ryo!"

"You said you wouldn't call me that!" He complained, the impact caused by her attractiveness fading thanks to how her joke affected him. He took in a deep breath to calm down, feeling a bit disappointed this was how she congratulated him. Lowering his head, Ryoga pushed his disenchantment away and flexed his arms, easily breaking the chains restraining him. "And here I thought you'd be happy for me."

"I am happy for you, honest!" she said, finally understanding her joke had been in bad taste. "Look, I'm sorry, okay? I thought it'd be funny and stuff… seems I was wrong. Don't be angry at me, Ryoga, pleeeeease?"

She pointed her comment by puckering her lips and somehow managing to bat her eyelashes at him in a way that she imagined would multiply her natural appeal at least tenfold. Ryoga, already convinced Ranko was beautiful, had no way to resist her playful display of harmless coquetry, and blushing visibly while hoping his nose did not erupt in a geyser of blood, he managed to nod at her.

"Alright, just don't… don't do it again. I don't like being called Charlotte, ok?" he asked then focused her attention on Lotion, who was slowly walking towards them in order to avoid being overwhelmed by Ranko's cuteness.

"Ok, gotcha," Ranko said, silently watching as he walked towards Lotion without responding or even turning to look back at her. Why the sudden change? Was he angry and ignoring her? The idea made her feel somewhat alarmed. Why would he do that? The joke wasn't even that bad, was it?

The redhead shook her head, not liking how cold the idea of Ryoga ignoring her and being angry at her was making her feel. Not liking this sensation at all and deciding it was troubling her, Ranko harrumphed and walked past him, because who cared if he was angry? Her joke had been harmless so it was his fault for being so touchy. And if she felt somewhat depressed by how he acted then… then that was his fault, too!

"Hey Lotion, we've both finished the training, now what?" She asked, not letting Ryoga speak. Petty, she knew, but she was confused by how Ryoga's behavior made her feel so she simply decided to let her frustration show. Perhaps that way the idiot would understand how she felt.

"Now you two get a reward," Lotion said, wondering why the girl was behaving so odd. Perhaps she had argued with Ryoga? The ancient Amazon thought that could be possible, so she ignored the young redhead and instead looked at the young Hibiki. "You did a great job learning the Bakusai Tenketsu so quickly, and I think learning the next technique I have in mind will be easy for you and your friend."

"You think so?" Ryoga asked.

"What kind of reward are we getting'?" Ranko cut in, wondering if she would get some medicine for her amnesia or something similar.

"Well to answer your questions, yes I do think so," Lotion said and then she looked at Ranko. "As for the reward, I was considering cooking something special for dinner. You two have been eating only ramen and vegetables since I took you in, so I'll give you some meat tonight."

"You'll give us meat?" Ranko asked as her mouth watered. The last time she had eaten a decent meal with any kind of meat had been when she and Ryoga worked at that inn a while ago, "beef or pork?"

"I have lamb," the old woman answered. "Do you like it?"

"I do," Ryoga said, recalling a time he had tried it with a farmer he once met. "I really appreciate that you'll share with us, thank you."

"I've never eaten it that I remember," Ranko sighed. "I'll have to try it."

"But since it's still early and I'm the one who will cook…" Lotion started.

"What?" the redhead asked, not liking the sparkle in the old crone's eyes.

"You'll have to help me with some chores," Lotion completed. "You've already seen I keep some animals here, and also know I grow my own vegetables. I want you to feed my animals and to water my plants. Once you're done, we'll have a nice dinner."

"Why do I think you had this all planned?" the redhead groaned. "We completed the training; we should be getting a reward without you giving us extra work!"

"Well, if you want to have lamb for dinner you'll have to do it," the amazon sentenced. "Or would you rather have steamed vegetables tonight again?"

"You do enjoy this, don't you?" Ranko frowned.

"Not more than necessary," the old woman said with a chuckle. "I'll be in the kitchen, let me know when you're done with your duties."

"Oh, cheer up, Ranko. It's not so bad," Ryoga said once Lotion was out of earshot. "It's better than just sitting around doing nothing, right?"

"Sitting around doing nothing would be great right now; I am a little tired!" she disputed, and then remembered she was supposed to be upset with him. "And why are we talking, anyway? Every time I say something you get all offended and everything."

"I… of course, I don't!" He said. "Is this about earlier? Look, I don't like it when people call me names, ok? It brings back bad memories."

"At least you have memories, my earliest ones are all…" she made a pause, realizing her earliest memories that she actually enjoyed all involved him. This new understanding dissipated her anger, because how could she be angry at him over something so trivial? Ryoga was… he was her only constant, the only part of her current life that she could rely on. Feeling a bit guilty, she sighed and waved at him so he followed her. "Forget it, Ryo… let's just do what that mummy said, ok?"

"Sure, ok," he agreed, a bit confused by her behavior, but seeing she had calmed down he decided it was best to simply agree and let things cool down.

They had split the chores. Ranko, not wanting to get too dirty and preferring to avoid the smell she could detect coming from the pen, had insisted Ryoga fed the animals, claiming she wasn't good with them and that she would rather water the plants.

And so, the redhead was now busy with that task. She first checked the vegetables weren't bird damaged or infested with bugs or anything weird, and after that used an old manual pump and a long hose to send water through the rows crossing through the field. Luckily, she completed her part of the chores quickly, as she was starting to get bored.

" _He's really been there for me since day one hasn't he? I… I guess he's truly helped me a lot,_ " she thought as she rolled up the hose. She ended up thinking about Ryoga again, as she had nothing better to do, and after some consideration, she reached the conclusion that he was more than a good friend. He was the only good thing in her life since she lost her memories. " _Without him… I don't know what would've happened when that Musk tracker attacked me, or when that crazy amazon showed up with her boyfriend, and Ryoga sure helped when we had to escape Yakusai… and he did get us jobs at that inn… he's… he's so reliable._ "

Ranko placed the hose where she found it and looked at the pen on the other side of Lotion's orchard. She couldn't help smiling when she heard Ryoga's voice as he called the animals while he fed them. The wind caressed her skin then, and a sudden feeling of calmness invaded her. It was an emotion she enjoyed, because ever since she woke up with amnesia her life had been very hectic, with hardly a moment to relax.

"It's rather nice…" she muttered, enjoying the relative quietness around her. "No crazy amazons or Musk trackers or herbalists chasing me… yep, this is good."

Of course, she didn't exactly like the idea of living in a farm doing chores like these, but she believed she could probably get used to them with enough time, particularly if it meant having the chance to enjoy a peaceful existence.

"Can't think of that now, I have to get my brain fixed first," Ranko muttered. She heard Ryoga's voice again, complaining about something the hens and the rooster were doing. Her natural curiosity got the best of her, and wondering if he was having trouble, she headed to the pen.

…

Ryoga had agreed to feed the animals for one very important reason: it was a task that would allow him to stay in the pen or close to it, which meant he could avoid getting lost as long he focused and didn't wander around. In the end, he had a very easy time doing what Lotion had asked them to do. The only animals he had to feed a different kind of food where the chickens, but even then it was easy to do without much trouble.

Or so he thought. While the pigs, goats and the two cows had been quite cooperative, the birds were not. The rooster was for some reason acting very aggressively, going after Ryoga every single time he tried to approach the hens. Finally, after just letting the rooster perch on his head and tolerating his continuous pecking, Ryoga finished his chores. Standing straight and shaking his head left and right a couple of times to get rid of the aggravating bird, he finally walked out of the pen, brushing off some feathers with his hands as he walked. He was sweaty and a little dusty, but he had to admit working with the animals hadn't been so bad and Ryoga was actually starting to enjoy himself; perhaps, he decided, life in a farm suited him well.

He looked to his left and was surprised to see her leaning on the fence separating the pen from Lotion's house. She was smiling at him and it seemed she was feeling happy again. Ryoga smiled back and approached her, never taking his eyes from hers. The young Hibiki was glad that she was in a good mood again, he simply enjoyed her company much more that way.

"Hey, there, farm boy," she greeted. "Once again I finished before you."

"Some Roosters just didn't feel like cooperating is all," Ryoga shrugged while dusting a feather off his shoulder. "And since you completed your chores first then I guess that makes you a great farm girl, huh?"

"Heh, good one. I guess I deserve that," Ranko said and giggled in a decidedly feminine manner, something that she found odd so she stopped. Giggling wasn't something she did often, as she normally chuckled or just laughed, and she wondered if that is how she used to react when she had her memories. Maybe she was recovering some old habits?

"What are you thinking?"

"Nothing in particular, just wondering if what I did just now was something… something a real girl would do?" She wondered, looking up at the clouds. "Perhaps that's what I did before my accident?"

"Ranko, you are a girl," Ryoga said, a bit confused by her words.

"I know but… sometimes I feel…" she sighed. "Forget it, Ryo. It's complicated and I'm not sure I can explain it right now."

"Oh… ok, but you can talk to me later if you want to," he offered, understanding it was best to just let her be so he wouldn't risk upsetting her again.

"Anyway, this was a good day, no?" Ranko asked. "We finished our training and we're having meat for dinner!"

"Yeah, it was," Ryoga smiled. "You know, I was thinking when I was feeding the animals and I realized that I didn't get hurt."

"Well, that's pretty obvious," she rolled her eyes. "You're standing there."

"No, I mean, when that boulder exploded, I was hit by the blast and I didn't even flinch," Ryoga explained. "And I'm sure I'm way stronger than before I started learning the Bakusai Tenketsu."

"No kidding, rolling up those huge boulders uphill every day, getting smashed into a pulp and then there's all those things Lotion always does to us, like making us fight her over stupid things or chasing her just because she feels like it," Ranko then scratched the back of her head, pensive and considering her own progress. "But you're right, Ryo. I noticed earlier that I got faster, you know? Not to mention my movements are much more precise than before, and perhaps I even got a little stronger, too."

"I guess all that was actually extra training," he concluded. "I must admit that woman knows what she's doing."

"Yeah, as hard to believe as it is…" she said.

The pair went silent then, each contemplating the effects of Lotion's training, finding a newfound respect for the old woman even if her training methods were something both of them completely disapproved of.

It was then that Ryoga, who was also leaning on the fence, reached for the hem of his shirt and pulled it up, using it to wipe the sweat off his brow. He could have used one of his bandanas, but he didn't feel like untying one so he instead used the next best thing he had at hand. What Ryoga didn't realize, was that he had unintentionally given Ranko a full look at his torso.

' _What the hell is this idiot doing?'_ Ranko wondered. She had been thinking about her training when a hint of movement to her side caught her attention, so she turned to look, only to find Ryoga lifting his shirt up to clean his face with it, revealing his deliciously well-sculpted torso in the process. The redhead felt her body temperature rise at the image, her mind absorbing every single detail of Ryoga's perfectly chiseled abdomen and chest. She breathed deeply as a strong feeling of longingness invaded her. She tried to look away but she found it impossible, her gaze was fixed on his body and she couldn't stop looking at him. Ranko suddenly understood that she liked this, perhaps even more than what she should.

' _It's as if I wanted his body…'_ she thought, feeling her flesh getting warmer the more she looked at him. ' _Oh, no… am I a pervert? Or is this because I used to have a boyfriend as hot as Ryoga?'_

Not really thinking, following only what she believed were her female instincts, Ranko moved closer to Ryoga, and when he dropped his shirt and took in a deep breath she slowly reached to touch his arm, her hand gently pressing against his bicep. Feeling the hard muscle sent a shiver of emotion all over her body. Why, why did she wish she could have this? It made no sense to her, but it was as if deep down she wanted to have Ryoga's body all for herself.

"Yours is so big, hard and firm, Ryo," she muttered. "It's not fair, my arms are so slim and soft and small compared to yours…"

The first thing Ryoga did when he felt Ranko's hand over his skin was to freeze, then reach up to pinch his itching nose as hard as he could. What was Ranko doing? Surely she knew if she kept touching him like this…

No, he had to control himself. Going by what she was saying it seemed she was not flirting with him. Good, then that meant he could simply focus on her words and that way he wouldn't bleed into a comma. What was she saying? That it was unfair her arm was smaller than his?

That was nonsense.

"Ranko, you…" Ryoga called, gently holding her hand in his. "You are perfect as you are… I mean… no, wait… I really mean that."

"You do?" she asked, looking him in the eye, suddenly realizing how close they were to each other and finding she didn't mind it. In fact, she thought it felt rather nice.

"Y-yes…" he whispered, moving a little closer, wondering if it would be ok to hold her by the shoulders. "Yes, I think so."

"Thanks, Ryo…" she smiled, accepting his proximity. He was very close now, close enough for her to feel his breath on her skin. All he had to do was to move a few inches more and then their lips would touch.

' _But if he kisses me…'_ Ranko felt her lips dry so she opened them slightly not daring to use her tongue to wet them as she thought that would be too enticing and a little inadequate. Still, the idea of Ryoga kissing her was filling her with mixed feelings. She was shy of course, not sure if she wanted to give him her "first" kiss, but at the same time she knew she wouldn't mind much if it happened, maybe she would even like it. What really confused her, however, was the tiny, almost imperceptible and microscopic part of her mind that balked at the idea of kissing a boy.

Maybe she was afraid of betraying a possible boyfriend? Whatever it was, it was too small to be of any importance, so she instead returned to the more appealing, and certainly more feminine, idea of wondering how kissing Ryoga would feel.

It was then that she heard it.

A sound that sent a wave of absolute horror all over her body.

A sound so terrible she felt her stomach twisting into knots.

A cat's meow.

It scared her so badly she took a step back and started looking around nervously, sweat crowning her brow as she frantically tried to locate the abominable feline she knew was prowling near.

"Did you hear it?" She asked, her face a little pale with terror. "I'm sure it was a cat!"

"I… I'm sorry, I didn't," Ryoga said, his heart still beating wildly in his chest. He simply couldn't understand what had happened here! One moment he was sure he would have his first kiss with Ranko, the girl he had come to care about so strongly and the next she almost shoved him away and started shaking like a leaf in the wind. "Are you sure you heard a cat?"

"Of course I'm sure, I swear!" she answered. "You just weren't paying attention because... we…"

Understanding what she was about to say, and now that the mood was gone finding she just wasn't able to complete the thought, Ranko simply took in a long, deep breath and tried to relax. This was not Ryoga's fault, and it wasn't her fault either. It was the fault of that cat she heard.

He reached for her shoulder again, but she avoided his hand and started walking towards Lotion's cabin. The idea of being in a place where a cat may be near was something she just couldn't deal with right then.

"Let's go see if Lotion needs help cooking that lamb, ok?" she said without stopping to look back at him. "We can talk about… about what we were doing later if you want to. Right now I just want to be inside."

Too confused to think of any response, Ryoga simply nodded and followed her.

Behind them, a gray cat spied from a hole under the old toolshed next to the pen. The stealthy feline meowed again as it stretched and then hurried after the two teenagers, obviously not wanting to be left out of the house…

* * *

Standing before Lord Herb Mint and Lime bowed as the might dragon ruler looked to his two subordinates, he couldn't help but sigh as he saw that Lime hadn't been carrying a defeated redheaded.

"Before you say anything! We tried everything!" Mint announced as he held his hands out in front of him.

"You know how good Mint's nose is Lord Herb!" Lime chimed in if only to defend his friend from the none too happy looking dragon leader.

Sumac watched from a distance, petting his adorable cat while it slept in his arms, clearly, the feline hadn't a care in the world.

"I got her scent but whenever we get a trail it suddenly vanishes!" Mint explained clenching a fist.

"We even fund some tracks that vanished completely without a trace!" Lime further added to this confusing dilemma as the two looked to Herb with looks of confidence and partial fear.

"I expected more from you two..." Herb spoke in annoyance as he crossed his arms and looked away from the two in a huff.

"I swear it was impossible! It's like he could use magic to travel or something!" Mint exclaimed as he looked unsure as to how he was going to explain this any more clearly than he could.

"That or get unbelievably lost!" Lime whined as he squinted his eyes shut, almost like he was experiencing a minor case of PTSD.

Herb weighed this news and narrowed his eyes, listening to every word coming out from his friend's mouths.

Herb said nothing for while he thoughts the situation over, "Whatever is going on you're the only one who has any idea what she smells like..." he began as he turned around and walked towards the windowsill, "So rest up and begin your search again soon..." Herb ordered, flapping his cape behind him.

"We won't let you down! I'll bring that woman back naked if I have to!" Mint exclaimed while exhaling through his nostrils.

"And I'll help!" Lime pumped his fist next to Mint as it seemed that they burned with determination... although one had to wonder what kind of determination.

"T-Those are not your orders! Now resupply and get going!" Herb commanded as his friends smiled widely before running out of the chambers. "Those two I swear... ever since they came of... _age_... they've been so..." he sighed as he let his arms fall to his sides.

"Any ideas, Sumac...?" he asked looking to his trusted advisor.

"We could try seeking help from the Amazon's or the Herbalists," he mused as he stroked his chin while his cat rested in his arms and even began to purr lightly. "If we're particularly desperate we can try the bird people of Mount Pheonix..." Sumac's voice dragged to a crawl as he reached the end of his sentence.

"I would rather not, their leader is nothing more than a spoiled child..." Herb stated as he frowned at the very idea.

"I did say _if_ we were desperate..." Sumac smiled while scratching his cat behind the ears while it slept, causing the cat's ear to twitch a couple of times.

"So we'll begin by asking the Amazon's and Herbalists if they've seen anything ..." Herb furrowed his brow as he looked as though he were glaring. "I don't like the idea of joining forces with the people of Mount Phoenix if I have to..." Lord Herb looked away from Sumac.

"Mrowwww..." Sumac's cat yawned in a very low tone, however, it was enough to make Herb stray from his thoughts.

"Would you please get rid of that cat…" Herb commanded as he clearly had enough of it in his presence, especially at such a time.

"My apologies Lord Herb but it was a gift from my Granddaughter and I rather like tabbies..." He spoke calmly as he put his hand on it, hopefully keeping the cat from drawing more attention to it.

Herb clenched his fists and closed his eyes, groaning in annoyance, "Next time leave it at home, this is no place for-" Herb was about to continue but saw a young soldier in similar getup to Lime walk over to them in a hurried pace.

"Lord Herb! There's been a report of some intruders near the border with Jusenkyo!" the ape-like man exclaimed as his tail coiled around his waist like a belt.

"It may be the girl..." Sumac comments as he was now simply holding his cat in both arms.

"Soldier I want you to tell Mint and Lime that they are to capture these intruders before anything else, is that understood...?"

Said soldier simply bows his head before heading out.

* * *

From Lotion's kitchen sat the three martial artists around a wooden table, their looks of contentment painted thickly across their faces while their stomaches quietly digested their food.

While leaning her elbow on the table and resting her cheek in her hand Ranko picked her teeth with a toothpick,"Gotta' say old timer..." flicking it into the trash bin nearby. "That was really good..."

"Same..." Ryoga muttered as he leaned back in his seat with his hands on his belly.

"Still with the lack of manners, huh?" Lotion commented before closing her eyes and chuckling a little. "Well, regardless, I'm glad you thought so..." she finished as she sat up from her chair and hopped to the ground before crossing her arms and walking away.

"Where ya' headed to?" Ranko asked.

"I'm surprised you care," she stopped before looking over her shoulder. "I'm gonna' go lay down but in the meantime I expect you two to clean up this mess..."

"I'd say I'm surprised but that'd be lying..." Ranko scoffed but didn't seem all too bothered as she passive fanned her hand in dismissal.

"Someone has to, I suppose..." Ryoga commented as he put his hand on the table, standing immediately after.

"Let's just get it over with..." she muttered with her eyes closed as she followed Ryoga's example and also came to a stand, the two going over to the sink behind them.

"Excellent," the old sage commented as she continued onto the next room or rather would have if she hadn't stopped right under the doorway. "Consider this practice for when you're both married..." she snickered with her sleeve over her protruding upper lip.

"D-don't make this weird!" Ranko grunted as she put her dish next to the sink.

Ryoga flinched so badly that he nearly dropped his plate in the process, luckily, he managed to catch himself before he could drop it, stacking his dish atop Ranko's right after, "It-it's just a chore!" he defended as he closed his eyes and tried his best to keep a still face, although the image of Ranma in an apron did pop into mind.

He really hoped he wasn't at the center of Ranko's attention.

"Geez..." Ranko complained as she turned the sink faucet on, filling the sink with water.

All they heard was soft laughter followed by the sound of static and finally, flute music, a soft singing geisha voice echoed throughout the house as the two were pretty much completely ignored by now.

Rolling his eyes the Lost Boy stared where Lotion had last been and at the corner of his eye spotted her leftover dish, he closed his eyes and went to retrieve the recently used tableware. "Can you believe her sometimes...?" Ryoga asked with his eyes closed, blushing a little.

"Yeah..." Ranko froze as she pulled her hand back from the lukewarm water that burned her. "Ah!" she screamed as she fell backward and bumping against Ryoga as he caught her from falling while his other held the tray up.

"I heard you scream!" Ryoga exclaimed as he to her, looking for any signs of injury. "Are you alright?" He asked as he had was a little too close for comfort, which, upon realizing that little tidbit, caused the two to jump off each other quicker than a cat running away from being spritz with water.

"I'm alright, d-don't worry about it..." Ranko stuttered as she regained her footing and put some distance between herself and her friend.

"How can't I worry about it?" Ryoga questioned, "All you did was touch some water..." Ryoga stopped as he finally found himself looking down at her, noticing that she was oddly timid now.

"Guess there's no point in hiding it now..." Ranko reached behind her head and closed her eyes, trying to organize her thoughts as best she could.

"Is it all water or...?" Ryoga asked while stacking Lotion's dish atop the others.

"What? No!" Ranko shook her head and brought her arm down, twirling her wrist. "It's just anything even at lukewarm, kinda' burns..."

"Whoa... any idea how long has this been a problem for you?"

"Don't know," Ranko replied plainly as she looked at the hand she had hurt. "For all I know, I could've been born with this..." she dropped her hand to her side and closed her eyes, letting out a sigh of frustration.

Everything she said was met an odd sort of confusion although he had to admit to himself that he might've preferred her issue than his own directional curse, _'It's weird but who says my own problem isn't weird...?'_ Ryoga thought as an instance of him and an Eskimo talking.

"Sorry if I'm weirding you out..." she scoffed as she looked away from him, feeling that his lack of a response was probably a negative one.

The Lost Boy's head shoot up quicker than a deer hearing gunfire, so naturally, he panicked briefly before, _'Should I say we all have our own secrets or would that sound like I'm giving myself away!?'_ He thought before closing his eyes and putting a hand on Ranko's shoulder. "It's alright! Really!" Ryoga assured as he smiled awkwardly.

"If it helps the old crow told me she knows a cure for it..." Ranko said as if she needed to assure Ryoga that this problem of hers would only be temporary, she may not have had any idea about her background but the fact that 'this' could discourage a healthy and or natural relationship.

"That's great news!" Ryoga's expression softened considerably as she voiced the possible cure. "Besides you're not alone, remember?"

"H-huh?" She replied in confusion.

"I have that whole ki imbalance thing going on..." He assured.

Ranko felt as though Ryoga's mood was contagious as she too found herself smiling just as kindly as he was, she felt overwhelmed by this feeling of weightlessness in her chest, "Oh yeah..." she admitted before chuckling lightly.

"Guess that means we're a couple of weirdos..." Ryoga suggested with his eyes closed, chuckling a little as he put his hand down and went over to sink in order to stop the sink from overfilling, lucky for them Ranko hadn't turned the water pressure valve too much.

"Guess that means this weirdo is drying then..." Ranko said as she took the drying cloth and watched as Ryoga pulled up his sleeves before reaching over to the nearby shampoo bottle.

"For now..." Ryoga said as he took a nearby sponge and grabbed a dish atop the stack they had made.

"If we ever wash dishes again," Ranko said, looking over at him with a bright smile,"I'll wash and you dry!"

"Yes... d-dear..." Ryoga choked a little and he tried his own version of teasing her, all while scrubbing his first dish.

"N-not you too..." Ranko rolled her eyes with a faint blush on her face as she took the now cleaned dish and dried it before stacking it on the left side of the sink.

"Figured it was time for a taste of your own medicine..." Ryoga announced as he closed his eyes and picked up another plate, smiling proudly.

Ranko quirked a brow, _'Fighting fire with fire, huh?'_ Ranko thought with a coy inner voice, "Oh, Ryoga sweetie, you're such a-a-a" she started until she suddenly stopped, her eyes shot way open as she looked down to her pants' leg.

Upon hearing her voice change to a more seductive tone the Lost Boy found his confidence wavering, then to hear her repeat herself without pause caused Ryoga to wonder what was wrong.

"C-Cat!" Ranko exclaimed as she felt the terrifying house pet gently rubbed against her leg as if it had earned that sense of admiration.

"I'm a what…?" Ryoga stopped and blinked in confusion, just to see that Ranko was looking down at an adorable housecat just seeking attention.

Said cat opened its eyes as it saw that it was gaining no attention from the redhead, it narrowed its eyes and meowed in a low tone before leaping at the frozen girl trying to not lose her cool. Only for her efforts to be vain as suddenly she lost all wits to her and ran as if she had just seen her worst nightmares come to life. "Get it off! Get it off!" Ranko pleaded as she ran while trying to pray the cat off her face.

"Ranko! Calm down!" Ryoga exclaimed as he reached his hand out to her, aiming for the cat on her face but seeing as she was far too scared to hold still he could only get close enough before Ranko ran into the living room.

"What's going on...? I was just about to doze off..." Lotion muttered as she saw Ranko running with a cat glued to her face. "What're you doing with my cat!? C-Careful! You'll-"

 _Smash!_

"Break something..." Lotion muttered as she put her hands up her sleeves and attempted to calm her anger.

"I'm trying to help but she's freaking out too much!" Ryoga exclaimed as he chased Ranko around the coffee table once before running out the room out the exit, or rather through it as she rammed through it, despite this the cat remained unharmed and clung to her like a stubborn mule before she ran over to the nearby trees, screaming the entire time.

"It's just a cat! Rankooo!" The Lost Boy pleaded in hopes of easing the nervous wreck of a friend, following her a little way into the forest as she was rather fast when she was scared for her life.

"I can't see her!" Lotion exclaimed stopping as she couldn't even hear the redhead's hurried footprints.

"Me either!" Ryoga's eyes darted around as he listened to his environment.

 _Snap!_

"There!" both Lotion and Ryoga shouted as they turned to their right and saw the familiar gray and white cat as it walked over to Lotion and meowed as if expecting some food.

"Where's Ranko?"

"If she got it off her face then shouldn't she be here?"

"Perhaps she simply in too much shock to call out to us, phobias are often complicated..."

"Meow..." A feline but feminine sounding tone echoed up on a tree branch.

"Ranko!?" Ryoga exclaimed as he saw his friend perched on a tree branch like a cat.

"Wait a minute..." Lotion's eyes widened as she stared at the redhead.

"... _Mrow..._ " Ranko stared at Lotion for a second before standing on all fours and hissing at the perplexed elder.

"What's wrong with her?" Ryoga questioned as he turned to the aged martial artist.

"I can't believe she's been..." Lotion muttered before shaking her head and addressing Ryoga's question. "Boy, that's the Nekoken! A very dangerous form of martial arts attained from a taboo training method!"

"What!?" Ryoga demanded as he felt his face tighten from the anger he was unable to express.

"Don't scare her away or we might never find her..." Lotion warned as she noticed that Ranko's feline persona watched her every movement. "I'm going to try hitting her sleeping point..." Lotion announced as she seemingly vanished and appeared behind the cat-like redhead, only to have her dodge and hiss.

"Whoa..." Ryoga stopped and stared in amazement, the fact that in this state Ranko was able to fend herself but also hold her own against the likes of Lotion.

"Such intensity..." Lotion muttered before leaping towards the girl on the opposite side of the branch, the two meeting in the middle but moving so quickly that Ryoga's eyes had a hard time seeing it all.

"How can a training method make someone this good?" Ryoga continued to question as the two forms clashed in the air once more before separating and landing on different tree branches.

"Owww..." Lotion groaned as she saw a claw mark on her hand, a small trail of blood flowing from it. "She's much too hostile for me and someone of your experience to take..."

"I don't want to have to fight you while you're like this Ranko!" Ryoga exclaimed as his proclamation might as well have been made to a wall as Ranko didn't seem to react in the slightest, her focus was on the woman with the cane.

"Mrowwww!" Ranko let a primal sounding groan as she lifted her hand and pulled her fingers inward, her body poised to strike as she looked as though she were some mighty beast backed into a corner.

"Ranko! Stop!" Ryoga commanded as if he were a master issuing a command to a disobedient pet, stomping one of his feet and balling his hands into fists.

"Meow...?" Ranko had come to a stop and turned her head to stare at him, tilting her head to one side in confusion before quickly looking at Lotion and then immediately dashing away deeper into the forest.

"Ranko!" Ryoga called out as he reached his hand out towards Ranko.

"After her! She doesn't seem to trust me but she seems willing to listen to you!" Lotion said as she immediately kept pace with Ryoga, watching as Ranko leaped onto some trees as if she were some alley cat.

"I'm on it!" Ryoga replied as he noticed Lotion had stopped following him while he chased the somewhat faint image of his redheaded friend dashing away on as if she were somehow the most athletic alley cat in the entire world.

He tried desperately to catch up, the mere idea of losing his friend scared him so much that he couldn't help but imagine her coming back to her old self and wondering why Ryoga had abandoned her, _'I can't let that happen!'_ Ryoga thought desperately as it caused him to squint his eyes in panic. "Ranko…!?" he shouted as he no longer had sight of the catgirl.

Landing on all fours Ranko looked over her shoulder, she hunched her back before pushing her hands out in front of her, stretching like some housecat after a good nap.

 _"Ranko!"_

The feline mindset in control opened her eyes and looked in the direction of Ryoga's voice, blinking in what could only be described as a cat-like curiosity, she sat up and waited atop a tree.

"Where are you!?" Ryoga exclaimed as he looked as though he had lost all hope, _'Wait... I'm this far out, lost sight of Ranko and have no idea how to get back to Lotion's...'_ he thought, letting the weight of the situation he was in to settle in. "Where am I...?" he muttered to himself as he began to slow down.

It was then Ryoga heard the sound of someone dragging their tongue across their hand, he ran over to the source of the sound and immediately after walking past a thick oak tree did he come across the crimson feline he so desperately hoped he'd find. Although he was still feeling a little nervous from the near breakdown he had nearly just had he knew that now was too crucial a time to worry about that.

"Mew...?" Ranko stopped halfway through licking her palm and dropped her paw, catching sight of Ryoga as he approached her with calm and collected steps.

"Here Ranko..." Ryoga cooed awkwardly as he blushed and swallowed, "come here girl..." he suggested as patted his thighs to usher her over.

Upon seeing Ryoga close his eyes with his hands held out the cat dominated mindset jumped off her branch and onto the unsuspecting boy's chest, "Meow!" she exclaimed happily as she closed her eyes and tilted her head to the side slightly.

"R-Ranko! What're-" Ryoga said trying to sit up, that was until he felt Ranko's palm against his shoulder, forcing him back down. "Huh!?" Ryoga closed his eyes instinctively when he felt the back of his head bash into the ground a little.

Quite a few yards away the proud Amazonian's eyes darted around until catching sight of her two pupils, Ranko on a tree while Ryoga calmly calling out to her. She herself approached with caution, watching and waiting. "Come on Ryoga..." she whispered and then saw Ranko pounce on her pray.

"Ryoga!" she shouted as she feared the worst, trying to stop Ranko from possibly swiping Ryoga's face clear off.

"Prrr..." Ranko purred gently as she had shut her eyes tightly, her lips pressed firmly against Ryoga's.

"Mmph!" he muttered underneath his first kiss but couldn't help but take notice of the fact that he felt as though he were some weightless feather adrift in an endless paradise, _'I can't believe how good this feels, she's so soft and gentle, my heart feels like...'_ Ryoga thought, his thoughts losing structure as his nose sprung like a geyser.

"S-She kissed him...?"

Lotion stopped to register what had just happened as then seeing Ryoga's form go limp, she watched Ranko quietly retract her muzzle away from Ryoga's and moved across his chest, finding a comfortable position before curling into a ball and sleeping on the Lost Boy's chest.

The old woman sighed inwardly and allowed her head to fall, she reached into her sleeve and retrieved a bandage, and she calmly began to wrap her wound. She eyed Nekoken Ranko before cautiously approaching them. Each step she took she would grow bolder and bolder until finally reaching the two. "Ryoga..." she whispered, poking him with the bottom part of her cane.

Ryoga's body shook but he gave no response, all she could see was a goofy but peaceful smile on the Lost Boy's face, to this, she rolled her eyes but honestly couldn't help but find herself glad that this had brought the two closer together, _'There's something oddly interesting about these two...'_ she thought before plopping herself down on the ground, closing her eyes.

"Look at all the trouble you've gone and done, Shou..." the elder woman spoke as the cat that had latched onto Ranma's face seemed oblivious to what it had done as it walked up to Lotion from behind before nuzzling her side, getting Lotion to scratch it behind its ears.

Slowly the raven-haired teen regained consciousness, the only notable sensation he could identify was that something like a piece of wood was poking his left shoulder. "Ugh..." he groaned in annoyance as he opened his eyes, much like a slowly recovering comatose patient.

"Boy you fainted but I need you to help me carry Ranko inside..."

"How am I...?" Ryoga shifted his head in his dazed state before finally opening his eyes enough to see a blurry red blob, right before his eyes finally adjusted and allowed him to see Ranko curled up on his chest.

"Do not wake her!" Lotion warned in a low tone but just enough so Ryoga could make out what she was saying.

"B-Bu-" Ryoga got so far before seeing Lotion hold her cane out to his face as if warning the Lost Boy not to make any sudden movements, their eyes focusing on the stirring feline groan that caught their attention.

She squinted her a little and nuzzled her cheek against her bed, said bed blushed but remained still as she began to drift back to sleep.

"I can assure that once she awakes she'll be back to her old self..." Lotion said, retracting her cane before raising a finger she shushed the yellow-clad teen like a librarian.

Ryoga desperately wanted his friend back to her old self but knew that he was about as much an expert on mental conditions as a lumberjack so he followed the old woman's command and looked down at Ranko's sleeping form and raised his hands up and reached behind Ranko as though she were actually a cat.

He felt her move and immediately froze in place, seeing that it was only to stir a little, she soon relaxed, yet again. He closed his eyes and sat up with Ranko in his arms, at first she had remained in her sleeping position until Ryoga shifted his own on the ground, causing her to shift around lazily until looking as though she were some oversized housecat sleeping in her owner's arms.

 _'Is it weird that I think she's adorable...?'_ Ryoga thought as he looked to Lotion and nodded his head to her.

She returned the gesture and began to lead them back to their camp, jumping on her cane and casually walking them back. The trip back had been a tense one but Ryoga had done his best not to wake her. The second they reached the front door Lotion had opened it and stepped aside for Ryoga to go through, he did so without comment and walked back to his and Ranko's rooms, _'I know it wasn't Ranko that actually kissed me but does that mean I shouldn't have enjoyed that so much...? H-How couldn't I...?'_ he thought to himself before standing at the side of Ranko's bed.

"Gently..." Lotion watched as he put Ranko on her bed. "Well done..."

"I know what you said about her returning to normal but when you said taboo training method..." Ryoga paused as he almost wanted to stop his own conversation but knew that he cared far too much not to push onward.

"I'll explain in the other room how it works but there is one thing I'd like to say..." Lotion turned her attention to Ranko's form.

"What's that...?" Ryoga asked while also watching Ranko sleep.

"Whoever taught her the Nekoken is either a cruel bastard or a ginormous idiot..."

* * *

Darkness covered the land over Lotion's territory, creatures of the night sung their sweet melodies in peace as the ones inside the wooden shack slumbered peacefully inside. From inside Ranko and Ryoga's room, the two slept on separate one-person beds. Ryoga slept with his arms and legs sprawled out to his sides, looking as though someone had tossed him onto his back.

Ranko rested on her sides as though she had been a cat sleeping on her side, she squinted her eyes a little as she reached one of her hands over to her head and rubbed it. "Ugh..." she groaned as she opened her eyes, _'Where am I...? Am I still in that village?'_ she thought as looked around until she heard a faint soaring coming from her left.

"Pops?" she questioned suddenly, then looked at whatever was making that noise. What she found wasn't her father but rather a teenage boy wearing a bandana while he slept.

"Huh...?" she paused to examine his face, _'Who's that guy...? Kinda' looks familiar...'_ she thought as she continued to watch him sleep, for some reason she was oddly focused on figuring out who this was.

"Who're you...?" she muttered as she felt her breath cut short, her hand reaching over to her chest as she discovered she was feeling flushed, _'That headband... where have I seen that before?'_ Ranko pondered further before she stared at his lips for a moment as she found herself leaning a little before retracting her head and then shaking it, _'What am I doin' wasting t-time here for!? I need to find that old fart!'_ she thought in a panic before looking around again and finding her shoes.

Without even looking around to make sure the coast was clear the redhead walked with her shoes in hand and once reaching the front she quickly slipped on her flats and opened the front door.

Lotion looked over her shoulder as her rocking chair had been positioned to face the same direction as the front of her house, "I see you've finally come to..." she commented as she looked back out in front of her. "How are you feeling?" she asked but then noticed that Ranko's form walking past her and towards the forest.

"I'm leaving so don't get in my way..."

"You forget yourself, child, we have an agreement..." Lotion suddenly appeared in front of the redhead as if winking into existence.

Ranko leaned back a little seeing as this old woman was in her way, she immediately started thinking back to the face of the boy in yellow she saw and shook her head as she felt that unfamiliar and uncomfortable feeling inside her chest. "I said I'm leaving! And if you wanna' get in my way then..." Ranko shifted her stance and prepared herself for combat.

"Then bring it!" Ranko exclaimed as she saw the aged Amazon move through the air like some sort of phantom, stopping only when she was in front of her. She attempted to trade fists with the old woman but all her attacks were easily batted away and then she was struck in the face with her cane, being thrown as if she had been shot out of a canon and headfirst in the tree behind her by a few yards.

"Mayhaps I overdid it..." Lotion commented as she put her hands in her sleeves and slowly walked over to her student. "Are you still breathing child...?" she asked sounding a little uncertain.

"What the hell, you old crow!?" Ranko demanded as she rubbed her sore head.

"Feeling better?"

"It's night...?" she asked with a very groggy voice as she looked around and noticed that from the looks of it the sun would probably not be up in a while longer.

"The sun was still up last you were..." Lotion muttered to herself as she then noticed Ranko leaving.

"I'm going to bed," Ranko announced all of a sudden, yawning shortly after and putting her hands behind her head.

"W-wait don't you want to know what's happened while you were out!?"

"I'll ask Ryoga when I ain't dead tired..." Ranko muttered as she walked back inside, _'Feels like I got hit by a bus...'_ she thought as her muscles were sore all over as if she had been contorting her body in really strange ways.

Lotion could only stand and watch as Ranko's exhaustion had pretty much excused her from a necessary conversation, "Strange..." Lotion muttered as she looked to the ground, thinking back to Ranko's actions and words, _'Now that I think about it, it was as if she didn't know who I was...'_ she thought before she drew to the conclusion.

"Does she truly wish to remember who she was? Perhaps it would be cruel of me to do so..." she closed her eyes and pondered the question.

 _"I suppose she'll know what to do when the time comes..."_

* * *

DaisukiFox: I have to say that I'm really happy I finally got to write for Nekoken Ranko and some for Herb! I can't wait to get further along in this story… You fans aren't alone, we wish we could be further along too. XD Thanks for your support guys! We're really happy that so many like reading this story.

There is some fanart for this but not on FF if that's where you're reading this from. ^^ If you wanna' see it check us out on DeviantArt! Look for Chapter 6 of this story to see the fanart!

Dr. Facer: As Daisuki says we really appreciate your support and are very glad that you all enjoy this story, it's been really fun for us to write as well. I hope you like the fanart Daisuki mentioned; I'm sure you'll find it more interesting after reading this chapter.

 _ **Prescribing fluff from the Doctor~**_

 _ **Dr. Fox~**_


	7. Chapter 7

Lost Together Chapter 7

By: Dr. Fox

Check us out on DeviantArt where you can see fanart, comics, and even my fanfiction! Search for...

KiyomuMitsue - on DeviantArt!

Disclaimer: We do not own Ranma 1/2 is anyway shape or form! So we ask you to please consider supporting the official release. XD

 **DaisukiFox:** Wow it's been a while! We've been working on a lot of things and even Doc has been super busy. ^^' Although we're glad to be back with another chapter of this fun series and I have to say I'm really getting excited... *takes a deep breath* I can't say what's going to happen but we hope this was worth the wait!

 **Dr. Facer** : Hi, welcome to chapter seven! This chapter is where we'll see some of the things we only hinted at before are fully addressed, and I really hope you like what we've prepared for you!

* * *

Behind a somewhat large hill walked the two old Amazonian friends, "I still can't believe we're desperate enough to ask the Musk if they've seen that fake woman..." Shampoo muttered in disgust, her arms crossed over her chest as she was followed closely by Mousse, who had been made to carry their supplies while they made their way through Musk territory.

"I was hoping we wouldn't end up here but this Ranma guy sure is a pain..." Mousse complained as he sighed and lowered his head, reaching up he took off his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"How do you think I feel? I may have to marry this man..."

"Shampoo, most girls in the village like marrying strong foreigners and to think you're not like that, especially given who you're related to..." Mousse questioned but lost confidence halfway through as he wasn't sure if he was being subtle enough to convey his message.

"W-Well it's different when you've been so..." Shampoo stuttered while they walked, looking back at Mousse but since she had kept her eyes on the road she hadn't noticed Mousse take off his glasses and was surprised to be greeted by Mousse's naturally dashing good looks; whenever his glasses were off.

"I've been so what...?" Mousse asked turning to the opposite of where Shampoo had been looking at when he spoke.

Looking back at Mousse she saw that he was looking in the wrong direction, no longer feeling weak enough to be vulnerable to his charms, she corrected. "Nothing! We should find-" she muttered as her eyes appeared to be following something to the corner of her eyes: a woman with red hair covering herself with a hood before running off!

"The Musk?" Mousse questioned before quickly putting his glasses back on as he heard Shampoo running in a different direction than where they had been walking.

"It's that fake woman again!" Shampoo declared with a spite-filled tone and gritted teeth, sprinting towards the girl in the cloak.

…

Taking to the roads once more the rogue feline Musk member made sure that there would be no surprises as she found her eyes darting from left to right, taking advantage of any tree she would happen upon by using it as cover.

"I can't believe I lost it!" she muttered begrudgingly to herself. She thought about the valuable treasure she stole from the Musk Dynasty and couldn't help but shake her head, 'No... I have to find that ring...' she thought, no longer uncertain but driven to right her wrong.

She hummed gravely and nodded her head, she then sprinted as quickly as she could only to sniff the air while either running around the trees or jumping over overgrown roots she would constantly have to avoid. It was only until a large ball like weapon collided with the ground in front of her that she stopped.

"Nya!?" she screamed as she flinched, jumping back with her forearm over her chest before dropping her composure as the unexpected attack startled her to the point she almost froze.

Suddenly, Shampoo propelled herself off the trunk of a tree, a second Chui poised over her head and ready to strike as she descended downwards in a deadly arc, aiming to take down her foe with one single hit.

Jumping back in the nick of time, the redhead's hood flew back as her head jerked around so quickly that it caused her hood to fall back and down to her shoulders, revealing her long and shiny scarlet hair. "Who dares…?"

"There's no escaping this time!" Mousse's hurried voice echoed as he jumped from branch to branch as he brought his sleeves forth and let a rain of daggers fly, following them with some iron balls, hoping this dangerous combination of weapons would incapacitate the evasive redhead.

Shampoo was so eager to capture her prey she actually miscalculated and landed poorly, lifting a small amount of forest dirt to her face. It was enough to make Shampoo shake her head off like a lion stepping out of a lake and then growling in annoyance to see that what she had found was not the redhead they were after but a strange woman with feline-like amber eyes and similarly colored hair. "Who are-"

"Are you crazy?" Shouted the Musk woman as she swiftly picked up Shampoo's Chui, which she swung at the iron balls and daggers falling towards her, she moved so fast she managed to hit them all, causing the daggers to fly off and hit a tree, she also managed to deflect the iron balls away, even bouncing one of them high into the air. Her surprising display of skill completed, the girl tossed the mace away, but remained very much on guard, still surprised by the ambush.

"Huh!?" Mousse paused mid-air before landing on the next branch but the moment he did one of his iron balls crashed into his face, it flew in with such speed that his glasses shattered.

Shampoo looked to her right and saw Mousse losing his balance and falling from a tree, all throughout his descent he dug through his sleeves, clearly looking for another pair of glasses. "Mousse!" she exclaimed but saw that her friend was only able to retrieve his bottle goggles right as he hit the ground.

"I'm... alright..." Mousse muttered, pausing between words to groan in pain.

"Stay back! If you're trying to rob me, I-" spoke the woman in her native Chinese tongue, backing up like a scared housecat, her sharp claws now fully extended.

The lavender colored beauty rushed over to her fallen companion and took the glasses from his hand, swapping them with the broken ones on his face, immediately helping him come to a stand right after. "We're sorry for attacking you but I saw your red hair and I thought I had found someone else…"

"My red hair...?" she paused to question as she blinked, only slightly dropping her guard.

"We have no business with you so either leave or prepare for a fight..." Shampoo stated as she then looked over to the catgirl.

To this, the female Musk could only blink in confusion and tilt her head to one side.

"You do look pretty suspicious with that hood on," Shampoo warned. "So don't give me any ideas..." Shampoo added, narrowing her eyes.

"Shampoo... did we find her?" Mousse asked, a low groaning pain laced in his words.

"Are you two looking for a redhead...?" the Musk girl asked sounding just as stern as her attackers.

"Yes, we are, so what?" Shampoo replied, her tone mirroring that.

"I'm looking for a redhead, too. So if we have the same goal then maybe we can help one another...?" the girl muttered while she reached back up and pulled up her hood to once again cover her head.

"W-what did you have in mind...?" Mousse asked as he sat up a little, his purple-haired friend supporting him. "Working together? We don't even know who you are!"

"True..." the cat-girl admitted, she put her hands on her hips as if thinking, but then she respectfully bowed, "I'm Chervil, nice to meet you."

"I'm Shampoo and this here is my friend, Mousse..." Shampoo introduced them as she gently leaned forward to bow while holding Mousse.

"You're both amazons, aren't you?" Chervil commented as she leaned back. "This other redhead you're after must be important if she has business with you lot..."

Shampoo's eyes never stopped following Chervil's movements, recalling the speed and precision she used to deflect Mousse's assault was more than enough reason for her to stay wary of this feline looking girl. "What does it matter to you...?"

"That girl has a very important ring that I need back..." the auburn-haired lioness sighed, her eyes drooping as she looked to the ground. "It belongs to the Musk Royals, and I was supposed to keep it safe, but I think that that other redhead has it now."

"A royal ring from the Musk?" Mousse asked as he groaned, moving from Shampoo's side and sitting with his legs crossed.

"So you're Musk Royalty," Shampoo quirked a brow. "Why are you here alone, then...?" she asked, clearly confused by this point.

"I'm not a member of the Musk Royalty yet. I… I just haven't been able to make it official, as of late..." Chervil answered somewhat timidly as she brought a hand up to scratch behind her ear.

Mousse adjusted his glasses and noticed Shampoo's eyes narrowing and her lips pursing. He saw her putting her hand to her chin, looking away before bringing her eyes back to Chervil, letting her hand drop back to her lap when she noticed their former prey looking back to her and Mousse.

"My sense of smell is really good," Chervil explained as she looked out in the direction she had been following before. "I have that redhead's scent but she's been difficult to track down… but if you're also looking for her, then maybe the three of us could…"

"So you're saying we can work together?" Shampoo asked.

"Like sharing information?" Mousse wanted to know.

"Of course!" she smiled and nodded her head. "If you find anything out about her you let me know and I'll make sure you're rewarded by the Musk!"

"And if you find that redhead, bring her to the Amazons and we'll make sure you're compensated too," Shampoo spoke plainly and very business-like, although she smiled near the end. "Do we have a deal, then?"

"Sure, that sounds good, I'll keep looking for my ring and the redhead you're after!" Chervil nodded and shook the other girl's extended hand. Then she began running as she spoke, her voice becoming fainter the further she went. "If I find her I'll make sure you are the first to know!"

"We didn't tell her how to find us," Mousse lamented. "Oh well, too late now."

* * *

 _Later…_

Sitting on the side of the road, Mousse removed his oversized glasses and touched the nasty lump on his head and grimaced a little. He recalled their brief scuffle with the Musk girl and frowned as he grudgingly admitted he had gotten careless. And that girl had been fast; faster than Shampoo and almost as fast as he was.

' _This is why we always avoid the Musk; they're not fully human,_ ' Mousse thought, recalling his great-grandmother's tales of the fearsome power the Musk clan possessed. ' _They're more trouble than they're worth, same as the people from Mount Phoenix._ '

"Are you alright?" Shampoo asked hoping the tone of concern in her voice was not evident. She was standing to his right, leaning on a tree to escape the biting sun. "You said you wanted to rest a little, but we should really start moving again."

"Yeah, I'm fine now, and I agree… the sooner we get out of Musk territory, the better," he said while putting his glasses back on. "Still, what that girl told us… I didn't like it much."

"What part?"

"She's a royal from the Musk Dynasty," Mousse said. "I don't trust her, Shampoo. The Musk respect only one thing and that is... strength. If she believes we're beneath her she may decide to ignore our deal and do as she pleases."

"She didn't seem that voluble," Shampoo indicated. "I trust she'll go to Joketsuzoku to tell us if she sees Ranma."

"Maybe, but I was able to sense her ki and I'm sure it felt cat-like… that's not good for us; the cat clans are not exactly used to make deals with people, they simply take what they want," Mousse explained gravely. "This could end up being a huge waste of time at best or put us in a collision course with her family at worse… look, I'm not sure if Chevril is from the tiger or lion clan but both of them are really bad news; we'll have to be careful or we could be in deep trouble, Shampoo."

"Well, going by her eyes she did look like one of the cat clans… you actually do seem to know a lot about the Musk Dynasty," the young Amazon observed, slightly surprised by the information Mousse was sharing. She was familiar with the Musk, of course, but Mousse's knowledge of the evasive animal people was clearly above hers. "How come you know all that?"

"My great-grandmother told me a lot about them and about the bird people from Phoenix Mountain when I was a little boy," he said after a moment of hesitation.

"Oh, yes, her…" Shampoo lowered her eyes, remembering they were not supposed to talk about the woman. Mousse's great-grandmother had vanished from Joketsuzoku for an undisclosed matter, and that meant nobody was allowed to talk about her; when an Amazon was expelled, she was not just gone from the Amazon village; she was erased to the point even mentioning her name in conversation was prohibited. "I guess she would know; she was a member of the elder council, after all… surprising, since elders are sworn to keep many things secret."

Mousse didn't answer Shampoo's comment; he frowned instead and slowly got up, focusing on scanning his surroundings. His ki detecting skills were not yet perfect by any means, but he had improved them substantially during this trip and he was now completely certain there were two strong signatures somewhere around them. Their owners were doing their best to keep them hidden from detection, meaning he couldn't tell exactly where they were, but they were close. Disturbingly close.

"Something wrong?" the blue-haired beauty asked, looking left and right once she noticed how alarmed Mousse was.

"Someone's watching us," he said in a low voice. "They're very good at hiding since I can't hear them move no matter how much I try … but I can feel their ki. Problem is they're keeping it suppressed to the point I can't tell where they are."

"Let's get moving, then," she suggested while picking up her backpack. "If they're bandits we can leave them behind fast enough or fight them if it comes to that."

"Their ki's too strong for them to be just thieves, it feels… odd," Mousse said, still facing the woods to his right. "It's like…"

But Mousse couldn't finish his sentence, a small shadow dashed towards him from behind the trees so quickly that all he could do was to swiftly produce an iron baton from under his left sleeve to parry a blow from a long sword.

"Congratulations! You managed to block my sword!" A boy of around thirteen said with a wolfish smile. "I didn't think a normal human could react that fast!"

"Shampoo, this kid's from the Musk!" Mousse shouted while struggling to dodge or parry the barrage of sword swings aimed at his legs and torso. "Get out of here!"

"Amazons don't flee from battle, you idiot!" Shampoo shouted and prepared to assist her friend, but before she could do anything a tall shadow emerged from the forest with an amazing leap, landing right behind her.

"You two are coming with us!" Lime shouted and brought his arms forward, trapping Shampoo in an iron-like hold. The tiger boy then noticed who he was restraining and couldn't help but grin mischievously. "Hey, Mint…? Am I holding a woman?"

"Yeah, you are… and she's very pretty!" Mint said as he dodged a punch Mousse threw in his direction with incredible nimbleness. "I'm sure Lord Herb will let us take her on a date after he talks to her!"

"Does she have big breasts?" Lime asked, his face turning a bit red. He was so busy envisioning his future date with this girl he didn't even feel her attempts at getting free.

"I can't tell with your arms blocking her chest, Lime. But maybe she does!" the wolf kid guessed excitedly, stopping for a moment. "You've gotta let me see them when we take her on a date!"

Stopping to ask for a chance to see Shampoo's breasts, however, turned out to be a mistake.

"You leave her alone!" Mousse shouted, using this chance to punch Mint in the back of his head hard enough to send him bouncing several meters down the road. "And you, Lime or whatever your name is, release _my_ Shampoo!"

"I'm not _your_ Shampoo!" the lavender-haired beauty corrected, flushing after hearing Mousse's words, and feeling strangely alarmed at the fact she was not angry at what he said.

Lime for his part was at first a bit amused by seeing Mint getting punched into the ground, and for a second considered fighting this strange looking long-haired boy, but in the end, he didn't have to. One glance revealed that Mint was back up again, rubbing the side of his head. The tiger man grinned, preparing to watch the show.

"So, you're not taking me seriously now? I'll show you what it means to challenge a…" Mousse couldn't finish his sentence, for a blur of gray and brown circled around him so fast he had no time to react as he quickly found himself on the ground bound tightly from the ankles up to his shoulders with a thick rope.

"Be glad I didn't take your head," Mint said, standing above Mousse. "Our orders are to take you both in for questioning… but give us a reason and we'll only take your woman. Do you understand?"

Still unable to process how fast this kid was, and knowing any further attempts at fighting would only get Shampoo hurt, Mousse could only nod.

…

The audience chamber in the Musk Royal palace was certainly something to see. Spacious and decorated with many antiquities that put most of the treasures gathered by the Amazons over the centuries to shame, this large room was one of the dynasty's points of pride, and it was here were Mousse and Shampoo had been bound to chairs so tightly none of them could do anything to escape.

"Why do you think they brought us here?" Shampoo wondered, keeping busy looking at some of the ancient artifacts in the room, "do you think they'll torture us?"

"The Musk Dynasty doesn't normally resort to that," Mousse said as he focused on trying to think of a way to escape the situation. "But that's because people normally fear them too much for it to be necessary."

"I've learned why," Shampoo muttered then, recalling with cold dread how strong the tiger man they called Lime was. She hated this display of weakness as she knew that Mousse could hear her, but she didn't care; she had never met someone so powerful, and the mere idea of facing Lime again and this time actually fighting him filled her heart with terror.

She then noticed Mousse was paralyzed, an expression of utter panic crossing his face.

"What's going on, do you feel something?"

"I should have kept practicing that ki detecting technique…" Mousse said after swallowing his fear. "If I hadn't I wouldn't be sensing this right now… someone's coming here, a man… and he… I don't know who he could be, but this much power… only the Dragon Clan could have it. The Musk King must be coming here!"

"The Prince, actually," a young man, not older than twenty, said as he opened the door in front of the two Joketsuzoku teenagers. "I am Prince Herb, heir to the Musk throne, and I would have words with you both."

"Release us first," Shampoo requested sourly, but quickly added when she saw the way Herb's right eyebrow moved. "I mean… if you may let us go… please?"

"We may free you," another man, an old one with a wise, yet wolfish appearance said as he entered the chamber. "But how quickly we do that depends entirely on what you tell us."

"I don't think they're from the nearby town or any of the farms," Herb observed. "Sumac, what can you tell me about these two?"

"They smell like… people from the Amazon village," the old man said as he sniffed the air.

"Are you sure?" the Dragon Prince asked.

"I am sure. The Amazons have a very particular smell, one that is not easily forgotten."

"So, what were you doing in Musk territory?" Herb asked.

"We are looking for someone," Mousse said, "a fugitive who caused a lot of trouble for us."

"I see; tell me about this fugitive of yours," Herb requested. "He must be very important to the Amazons if you risked coming here without sending a message through our agreed methods first."

"We don't know what our agreed methods are," Shampoo said. "But I can tell you about the fugitive, she…"

…

"…And that's all, we've been trying to find her since then," Shampoo concluded. She had told Herb about how Ranma escaped the Amazon village, but left out their encounter with Chevril, thinking she could use that bit of information to bargain their release if it was necessary.

She was lucky that Mousse, who had remained silent as she spoke, apparently understood what she was planning.

"The girl they're looking for is clearly not the one we want," Sumac said then. "This was a waste of time… or maybe not, we can always marry this young woman to one of our own. Lime did seem quite interested in her. The boy we can dispose of, he's too weak to be of any use to the clan."

"What?" Mousse said, "Dispose of me, are you joking?"

"Of course we aren't," the Royal advisor stated without bothering to explain further.

"Wait, you can't just kill me, that's…!" Mousse started, fear evident in his voice as he strained to escape his bounds, only to find whatever type of rope the Musk used, it was too much for him.

Shampoo, despite her mind telling her she should not care about Mousse's fate, could only pale in fear; the young Amazon was so shocked by the threat made to her friend's life that she even forgot what the old man had decided for her. What they wanted to do with them both, but particularly Mousse was incredibly unfair!

Despite herself, images of Mousse helping her during the trip all around the province resurfaced in her mind, and the memories of the few times they had played together as children. She realized she actually cherished all these moments, and that if they took him away then… then she and Mousse could not make any new memories together.

Thinking of all this helped her realize that it was not wrong to worry about Mousse and that the Musk nobles had no right to hurt him, no right at all!

"Tell us about that girl you want!" Shampoo said, frantically trying to find something to stall the Prince and his advisor from hurting her friend. "We've been traveling all over the region, we may have seen her!"

"Hm… she does have a point, Sumac," Herb said thoughtfully. "Very well, have you met another redhead, about the same age as the one you're chasing, probably wearing a cape and keeping her face mostly hidden under a hood?"

"Another redhead? Yes, yes we have! We met her this morning!" Shampoo revealed. "She said her name's Chevril."

"And you didn't tell us this because?" Sumac asked, annoyed.

"You didn't ask," the Amazon countered, a bit of her old self-confidence returning.

"What did she tell you?" Herb pressed, ignoring his advisor's rant. It was obvious the Prince's main priority was finding Chevril. "Did she mention where she was going?"

"No. But she did say something that may be important," Shampoo recalled.

"Well, then tell us!" Herb demanded, his strong ki warming the air in the room as he spoke.

Shampoo had to swallow her fear at the power Herb radiated, and a glance to her side revealed that Mousse, who was far more sensitive to ki than her, was livid.

"I will if you promise that you'll let both of us go," the girl requested.

"You dare bargain with the Prince?" Sumac growled, baring his sharp fangs. "How can you?"

Grinning, Herb lifted a hand to silence the old wolfman. "You have some spirit, girl, I respect that. Very well, tell me what Chevril said and I promise I'll let you and your friend leave."

"She said she was looking for a special ring, a ring that belonged to the Musk royals."

"Does that mean she… she lost it?" Herb growled in rage. "She steals my ring and then she drops it somewhere? I can't believe this!"

"Someone else has the Royal Ring," Mousse said then, forcing himself to take over for Shampoo who was now so intimidated by Herb's aura she didn't seem to have the strength to talk anymore.

"Who?" the Prince asked, his attention now set on Mousse.

"The girl we're looking for; Chevril told us she probably had it."

"This is incredible…" Herb groaned and wondered if he would ever see his royal heirloom again. This development was simply just too ridiculous to be true! Was fate mocking him for something?

"We don't need the Amazons getting involved in this," Sumac said then.

"No, on the contrary," Herb told him after considering the situation for an instant. "This is their fault; they do need to get involved!"

"What do you mean this is our fault?" Both Mousse and Shampoo asked.

"If _your_ redhead hadn't escaped _your_ village, she wouldn't have taken _my_ ring," Herb started, pacing around the room in order to regain his wits and not exactly managing it, he really was that upset, for without the ring he could never ascend to the throne. "We would have managed to capture Chevril sooner or later, but because of your incompetence… the Musk Royal Ring may be lost forever!"

The two bound teens spared a glance at each other; neither of them liked the turn things had taken; at all.

"Very well, it is decided," Herb said with a cold voice. "The Amazons have one month from now to recapture that thief and to recover my ring… if they don't, I will hold the whole village responsible by association and as punishment… the Musk Dynasty will raze Joketsuzoku to the ground! Now release these two, Sumac, let them go back to their village so they can tell the Amazon elders of my decision!"

His commands given, Herb walked out of the audience chamber, leaving Sumac to deal with Mousse and Shampoo.

"That… that was actually excessive even for him; the Prince must really be furious," the old man said, his voice actually a bit regretful. "But his orders are absolute. I'll summon some guards to escort you out of the castle; I suggest you return to Joketsuzoku as fast as you can."

* * *

 _Meanwhile, far from the Musk palace…_

Ranko sat in silent contemplation, still digesting what Ryoga had just told her. Did she find it difficult to believe, acting like a cat? She didn't remember anything about it! Still, the way he related the events and the confirmations offered by Lotion all confirmed that this was not a joke. She had indeed turned into a feral cat and attacked them.

Well, she had only attacked the old crone, but the fact was she could have tried to go after Ryoga too. She didn't like the idea at all, or how this meant that she had now yet another problem to add to her list, so she instead focused on the fact that she somehow was skilled enough in 'cat mode' to match Lotion, as she considered that to be the only positive.

"So, how… what is this technique called?" She asked with a sigh, deciding she should at least try to learn as much as she could about it to prevent it from happening again.

"Neko Ken. A forbidden technique due to the mental strain it causes on the person who tries to learn it. Do you know who taught it to you?" Lotion said with a serious tone. "That person committed a serious crime… The Neko Ken training may even be the cause of your amnesia."

Ranko shook her head, gritting her teeth in anger. "No… I don't know, I can't remember. But I wish I could… so I could go and kick their butt for doing this to me!"

"They would be thrown to jail anywhere in the region," Lotion said. "I certainly hope your parents aren't responsible for this."

"I'm sure they aren't!" Ryoga offered, hoping this would help Ranko feel a little better.

"I hope so, too," she sighed, hoping none of her parents had forced her to learn a technique so dangerous.

"Well, I'll just have to be careful to keep my cat out of your way," the old woman said. "We can't have you go into Neko Ken state again. You could get lost and end up in a bad place."

"I guess that's a possibility," Ranko agreed. "Thank you."

"Don't mention it," Lotion said, jumping off her chair and walking out of the living room. "I have something to do, children. You two wait here, I'll be back in a moment."

Saying nothing more, the ancient Amazon walked out of the living room.

…

"You don't look happy," Ryoga observed, leaning forward on his seat so he could better look at Ranko, who was sitting on the old two-seat sofa in front of him. "I imagine this is difficult, do you want to talk about it?"

"Life hates me," she declared, lowering her face to hide her sadness. "I have amnesia, a stupid allergy to hot water and now this… this Neko Ken thing!"

"Ranko… It'll be alright, you're not alone. I'm here for you… do you want to talk about this?"

"I don't feel like talking, okay!" Ranko snapped for a second, sounding genuinely upset and turning the other way to avoid looking at him. "What is there to talk about anyways...? Do you want me to tell you how much of a freak I am? Well, I am a freak, Ryoga! Are ya' happy now?"

Ryoga recoiled as if she had slapped him. Listening to the despair in her voice was enough to fill him with anguish, and a strong desire to help her feel better invaded him. Because it was not fair that Ranko had to suffer, it simply wasn't! And the reason he felt this way was simple, for better or worse, even before the single kiss she gave him when she was stuck acting like a cat, he had started to care deeply for her. He even felt he could really love her soon, and while that scared him a little, making sure she was alright was far more important.

"That's not the only thing bothering you. And you know I don't care about it; hell, I am weird enough already, remember?" He said, trying to sound as calm and reassuring as possible. "Look, to me you're a normal girl, Ranko. Just remember that your amnesia and allergy to water will be cured soon, and Lotion may be able to block that Neko Ken thing somehow, so, please… tell me what's bothering you. It's alright, you can trust me."

"Can I really?" she asked, still not turning to see him. Her shoulders trembled a little then; there was something else worrying her, something that made her feel close to tears, and she was not sure if Ryoga could understand if she told him.

"Yes, completely," he assured her. "I would never betray you, or laugh at you, please talk to me."

"But… it's… I'm sorry, I can't…" Ranko slumped again. She had turned to look at him but found that she could not say what was torturing her. It was simply too difficult to admit that what had troubled her so much was the realization that perhaps her parents were not as she had so far imagined them; that maybe, just maybe, her father and mother had forced her to learn the Neko Ken without any concern to her wellbeing, perhaps just using her for their own ends, maybe against the Amazons who were so angry at her. The idea that her parents could have caused her amnesia, and then abandon her when she was no longer useful for them had struck her hard, and she just didn't feel strong enough to discard the thought because… wasn't she lost and didn't' the Amazons hate her? And what could she do if her parents were indeed responsible for all the tragedies she had suffered? What would she do if that were true?

"Hey, it's ok…" He told her then, going to sit next to her when he saw her sink deeper into despair. He hated seeing Ranko like this, so vulnerable and defeated. He couldn't understand what had her so mortified, but he couldn't see her like this anymore. Taking a deep breath and hoping this was fine and that his nose didn't start acting up, Ryoga brought his arms around her, enveloping her in a soft, warm hug he hoped would finally comfort her. "I'm sorry for insisting. If you don't want to talk about it then that's fine, but remember that you're not alone anymore..."

Ryoga sounded as though he were near the verge of crying himself but fought well enough to keep himself focused, he needed to be, for her, "You've got me, Ranko… you can always have me..."

"…Ryoga," she whispered, surprised and tense at the feeling of his arms around her. This contact… the way he embraced her, his kind words… he made her feel… _protected_ , safe, shielded from all worries, from all pain. She could not understand this, but little by little she relaxed and decided that was not important; because in his arms, she was safe. She was _safe_ , and that was all that mattered to her. "Why are you doing this… do you really… do you _care_?"

Ranko blinked and seemed to be partially lost in thought waiting for his answer, her cheeks beginning to resemble the color of her vibrantly red locks.

"Yes, Ranko; I care for you," Ryoga admitted with a whisper, exhaling through his nose and sounding pleasantly surprised while keeping her close to his chest, feeling glad that she was accepting his efforts to help her. "I really do..."

She could only look up at his face, focusing on his eyes, seeing in them nothing but a real, honest desire to help and deep concern for her. She was certain then that his words were true. He cared. He really cared. This revelation made her remember what happened between them the day before when she realized that she wouldn't mind if he kissed her. At that time she had already understood that Ryoga was very reliable and that he had helped her more than anyone else would have, and now she knew why.

 _'It's because he cares about me,'_ she thought and felt herself flush, she didn't want to show him that side of her at the moment, so she hid it by pressing her face on his chest. The idea that he cared so much… it made her feel… _scared_... but also it really _happy_. Because there was someone who thought she mattered and wanted to be with her. Ryoga would never abandon her; he wouldn't try to force any dangerous training techniques on her.

And to think he was willing to do this without asking anything in return, _'_ _I'm so lucky to have him… if he ever left me…_ _'_

Ranko had to fight the ball of fear the mere idea of losing Ryoga made her feel. She suspected that, were she not amnesiac, she would normally hate the idea of depending so much in another person, but that was foolish, she decided. Having someone to talk to, someone to travel with, to work and to laugh with was nice. Yes, she enjoyed that, she really liked to have Ryoga with her because of how much she... _cared_ for him?

Yes. She cared... She _cared_ so much for him too. More than even... what she thought was safe...

"Ryoga…" she called softly, shyly bringing her arms around him, gently returning his hug and then moving so she could look him in the eye, "Ryoga… I… I care about you too... You've helped since the beginning, always doing so much for me… thanks for everything. I don't know what would have happened if I had never met you... Ryo-Ryoga, you…"

"Go on, you can tell me," he assured, doing her best to sound encouraging.

She choked a little as she allowed herself to bask in their moment, her insecurities feeling like just some distant memory, casually cast out into the wind. She took in a deep breath and managed to continue.

"You're really... really... important to me...!" she nearly shouted as she muffled her words by burying her face back into Ryoga's shirt and hoping he hadn't seen how vulnerable he had made her.

"That's… thank you," Ryoga whispered. He felt his heart swell with joy but he managed, with great effort, to keep his emotions under control, because right then it was her who mattered. He had to remain calm, to keep offering her comfort. If he got carried away he would hug her so hard he could hurt her, he knew, it had happened once before when he encountered his father two years before after months without seeing him. But his father was sturdy and could resist a full strength hug from him, and Ryoga was certain Ranko could not.

And so he simply concentrated on softly holding her close, silently enjoying the fact she had hugged him back.

Several minutes later, when he felt she was calm again, he broke the hug but kept his hands on her shoulders. Looking down at her, he smiled and asked.

"Do you feel better, Ranko?"

She took in a deep breath and then offered him a soft smile. "Yes, Ryoga, I do feel better… this was nice, thank you… I think I needed that."

"I'm glad I could help," he said and returned the smile, gazing into her eyes and wondering if he could maybe kiss her now. The mood seemed right, after all, and perhaps this time he could…

* * *

Inside what could only be described as Lotion's room the elder stared out her window, in the distance she could see could see the damage that Ryoga's training had done to the area as branches and even some trees had whole pieces of stone embedded into their trunks, in some cases they even looked like crude makeshift weapons that giants would stick a large rock into and calling it an ax before uprooting it from the ground.

"I wonder if it's time..." Lotion mused to herself, bringing up her sleeve covered hand and putting it on her chin. 'They've progressed even further than I could have imagined...' she furrowed her brow, humming to herself as she growled in her throat for a second before looking away.

"It'd be foolish not to take advantage of this opportunity..." she mumbled again, putting both her hands up her sleeves as she curled her lips in disgust before opening her eyes to see a dark brown square table with a portrait and some unlit incense nearby, 'I half wonder if my mind will start going if I don't act soon enough, so many precious memories...' she thought, looking as though she had a serious case of fog brain.

"It's getting harder to see these days..." she mumbled when she reached further to the side of the table and retrieved a pair of glasses.

Adjusting them to her face for a second the aged master looked to the portrait yet again, she could see a worn out black and white photo of a family. The glare of the sun obscured most of the figures save for a brunette who wore thick glasses and was holding hands with a man in a white robe with oversized sleeves and black pants. Further to the man's left was an middle-aged woman who was shorter than the man she was standing next to; this woman kept her light gray hair rolled into a bun and beyond her but to the right of the group was none other than Lotion, standing next to a boy with long black hair who wore glasses that looked like they could have been the ends of soda bottles turned into lenses.

"I have to get as much back as I can..." she muttered as she ran her hand along the glass surface of the portrait, "but first things, first..." she said shutting her eyes as slowly, much like when the sun sets over the horizon.

"I'll have them deal with Ryoga's ki imbalance before anything, can't have the boy slowing things down..." she confirmed to herself as she sighed heavily, putting one of her memories back on the table where she found it.

Now certain on what to do, Lotion made her way back over to her guest room, arms crossed as she carried a bag tied to the end of her cane.

 _Meanwhile, back in the living room..._

Once again the lost boy found that despite their differences, there was something undoubtedly enticing about such a headstrong girl like Ranko, she was unlike anything he had ever encountered in a woman. His heart rate steadily climbed as seconds turned into minutes and the rest of the world around them just lost all significance.

Ranko found her eyes going wide once again, remembering how this feeling struck her before, this tension and unease, but along with it came an odd sort of giddiness that she couldn't just ignore, she had fallen under his spell once more and seemed to embolden herself by tugging harder at the fabric of the boy's shirt.

Slowly they closed their eyes and braced themselves for magnetic pull they were failing to fight, when suddenly…

 _"I hope you two are done making kissy faces because now we're moving forward with our deal!" Lotion said as she opened the door, her tone quite business-like once again._

Quicker than a flock of geese hearing gunfire the awkward Romeo and Juliet distanced themselves from one another, both keeping their hands on their knees and forcing their composure.

Lotion strode into the room just as they had pulled away, and she actually gawked for a second and found her eyes going flat.

 _'_ _Teenagers..._ _'_ she thought and lowered her head a little, closing her eyes.

Neither spoke as they fought to calm the thumping in their chests and blood rushing to their faces.

"In order for our deal to stay on track I'm going to need to make sure Ryoga's problem doesn't hinder our efforts..." the annoyed elder commented as she allowed her tone to settle.

Ranko regained enough of her wits to realize that her cure would have to wait, something that disheartened the girl for a moment. Her reaction hadn't slipped under Ryoga's radar and he was able to spot her disappointment from the corner of his eye.

"Ryoga's should be the simplest to deal, so I'll need you two to find some Corly Weed from a small town called Shangjie..." she plucked the map from the bag as it stuck out from within reach.

"Is there anything we should watch out for...?" Ryoga asked in a stern voice, hoping that his actions would inspire confidence in her.

"Noting my training hasn't prepared you for..." Lotion responded as she then tossed the rolled up parchment towards the downtrodden redhead.

"Huh?" Ranko at first looked perplexed, holding the map in her hand as she opened it.

"You take it, girl..."

"Wha...?" Ryoga had been so mystified with Ranko's almost adorable perplexing that he hadn't noticed Lotion throwing the bag directly at him, but he was able to instinctively catch it. He stared at it and was so glad that his training had prepared him for something like that.

"Good catch..." Ranko commented as she seemed relieved and had to remind herself that the man standing behind her withstood so much more than whatever was in their equipment.

"There's another list in that bag I want you to take into account, along with some money..." she commented as she turned her back to them.

"Thank you..." Ryoga bowed his head once and then grabbed the bag by the knot and slung it on his shoulder.

"Ranko you're in charge by the way..." Lotion smiled knowingly before turning around and walking away from the two.

The very instant that Lotion said Ranko was in charge the redhead beamed with a proud smile, closing her eyes she crossed her arms and then turned to her close friend and quiet nearly her first kiss to point her thumb at her chest. "You heard the lady Ryo, I'm in charge..."

"Why does that sound so unnerving...?" Ryoga asked as he swallowed deeply.

"Trust me, pal, I've got this..." Ranko assured with a very assertive tone, putting a hand on his shoulder and walking towards their guest room, hurriedly snatching the backpack with ease.

Ryoga although had said what he did, couldn't help but silently mouth the words 'thank you' before clasping his hands together in prayer while Ranko wasn't looking, glad that he wasn't the one that had to lead them for a change.

"Ready?" she asked as she returned with their things to see Ryoga nearly clapping his hands on his hips before nodding his head.

"Yeah, ready," he smiled. "Let's go."

"Hmm...?" she gawked at the map once they both were outside, but shrugged as she looked at it a second time, briefly going through it with her fingers acting as her point of focus and eventually came across their location and then looked to one of the many red circles on the map.

"How's it look?" Ryoga asked wondering what she had to say.

"It's a little longer than I thought it'd be but we might as well get started..." Ranko commented as she folded the map in four to keep it in her pocket. She did not notice the small weight of a certain ring she also carried there, however, as she had completely forgotten about it.

"I've also packed some rations, try not to overeat..." Lotion called then, a sack full of foodstuffs in hand.

"Whatever, mom..." Ranko mocked as she approached the front door to grab the food.

"I'm just keeping my assists safe, child..." Lotion countered as she crossed her arms and smirked.

"After we get the Corly Weed, should we return, or do we go for the other items on the list?"

"You may if you find that you cannot continue..." Lotion answered as she then pointed her staff towards the road ahead. "Well, get going, you two. Shangjie is a day away from here by foot."

* * *

The situation was bordering on ridiculous. Cologne decided as she walked through the hallways of the house where they kept Genma Saotome imprisoned. Her granddaughter and the village's best trackers had returned empty-handed, and she strongly suspected Shampoo and Mousse would not capture Ranma either. Perhaps it would be wiser to simply let Genma go, as it was clear his son was not going to be captured any time soon.

' _It would be a shame, however,_ ' Cologne thought, stopping to open the door with her cane and then stepping out. She enjoyed the warm sun welcoming her, but still kept this Saotome situation in mind as she went down the streets. ' _I suppose you can't win them all. I would have loved to see how strong Shampoo's daughters with Ranma would have been… now if what I'm fearing is true, I will most likely have to settle with her having children with Mousse._ '

Then again, even Cologne had to admit Mousse was not a weak young man, and despite his poor eyesight did have lots of potential perhaps even with some guidance…

The old martial artist put those thoughts aside and instead decided to simply walk around town, simply enjoying looking at the other amazons going about their business in Joketsuzoku. She stopped for a moment once she arrived at the town square to observe a group of seven girls practicing next to the hanging log they used for official Amazon tournaments, five of them had possibilities, Cologne decided, but the two more advanced were clearly naturals, and she made a note of making sure a member of the Joketsuzoku elder council supervised their training once they were a few years older. Satisfied, she continued on her way to the village's gates, to greet the merchants arriving from other towns, hoping to see someone from Yakusai to ask for a specific kind of herbs that she needed as she wanted to use them as ingredients for a special stew she wanted to cook for dinner that evening. Once he was at the main gate, she sat on a small rock and lighted up her long pipe, enjoying the flavor of Yakusai's special brand of tobacco.

Cologne's peace and quiet was suddenly interrupted when her great-granddaughter and her nearsighted suitor rushed in her direction, coming down the hill to the left of the village as fast as their feet could carry them. Once they were in front of her, the two teenagers started going on about something so quickly that she was having trouble understanding them.

"Children, slow down!" the elder demanded. "I can't understand what you're saying!"

"The Musk Dynasty will attack our village in one month unless we find Ranma and the Musk Royal ring!" Shampoo exclaimed after forcing Mousse to stop talking by rudely shoving her left hand on his face.

"What?" asked Cologne, left eyebrow rising as she had trouble believing what her girl was saying.

"It's true!" Mousse said then. "Prince Herb blames us for the disappearance of his ring!"

"But why would he do that?" the elder said. "It makes no sense!"

"Because Ranma found the Royal Ring," an alarmed Shampoo said. "For some reason, the girl who had the ring first lost it or dropped it and then apparently that stupid fake woman picked it up!"

"And since Herb can't find the ring now that Ranma has it, he put the blame on us, because we could not stop Ranma from escaping," Mousse provided. "Herb said that if we didn't find the ring in a month he would come and raze our village to the ground!"

Cologne stood in silence for an instant while she considered this development. She could not even imagine how Ranma managed to complicate things so much without apparently trying. Was that child a living trouble magnet? No, the elder decided to put Ranma to the side for a moment. The Musk Prince's ultimatum was much more important. She closed her eyes and focused on remembering everything she knew of the Musk, paying close attention to the information she had about their fighting skills and power.

The Amazon elder ran a hand over her brow and swallowed in fear; as far as she knew, Herb was a formidable opponent, one that not many Amazons could defeat in battle. Cologne was, in fact, certain that other than herself and two or three other elders, no Amazon was skilled or powerful enough to best Herb in a fight. And they had to consider the other Musk fighters the prince would bring with him; Tiger and Lion clansmen would certainly be ready to attack, members of the Wolf and Bear clan, as well. If the Musk attacked in a large enough group, and Cologne knew they would, then the Amazons had no chance of repelling them. In a direct confrontation, Joketsuzoku would fall under the Musk's might in less than two or three hours. Oh, the Amazons would fight to the end, of course, but that wouldn't change the result: the Amazons could not defeat the Musk Dynasty.

"What are we going to do?" Shampoo asked then, trying hard to hide the fear in her voice.

"You two will keep quiet about this for the time being," Cologne ordered. "I will call all the elders; we need to decide what to do."

"All the elders?" Mousse asked then. "Does that mean you're going to call my…"

"No. She was banished," Cologne interrupted. "That woman is not coming back here unless the elder council lifts her punishment, and not even this situation will convince us to change it, you can count on that, boy."

"But…"

"Enough, we don't have time to waste on this!" the ancient Amazon said. "You and Shampoo will get special training starting today. In the meantime, I'll suggest the Council send out our trackers again, perhaps this time they'll manage to find and capture Ranma before next month, with some luck that blasted Saotome child still has the ring or can tell us where it is!"

Not waiting for any reply, Cologne turned around and rushed to the Town Hall, already planning to organize an emergency meeting, because she was not going to let the Musk destroy the Amazon Village!

* * *

 _The Next day..._

The sun hung high in the sky as it lit their way through the treacherous forests in the deep Chinese mountains; the terrain was filled with thick foliage, occasionally toppled over trees, and the distant shrieks of wildlife echoed in the distance like an ominous wind.

Though none of these things were of concern for the two martial artists as they seemed content, packing their things while a hazy white smoke rose from the dead campfire.

Ryoga rolled up his sleeping back while awkwardly avoiding eye contact with the redhead, his eyes, however, would often drift to her. He couldn't for the life of him see if she was uncertain about anything or had even been worried about what had almost happened... in fact, quite a few times already and once with her Neko-ken mindset.

 _'_ _I like that she's so focused but I wonder if she's not sure about me..._ _'_ Ryoga thought as he watched her tugging on her shoulder straps.

"How's it goin', Ryoga?" Ranko asked as she looked over to the boy lost boy who was finishing up by tying the knot at the end of the bag.

"Ready..." Ryoga replied calmly as he reached down and grabbed one end of a thick branch so he could tie the bag to one end, that done he lift it up gave it a shake before resting it on his shoulder.

"Good..." Ranko remarked quickly and evaded his eyesight as she found her thoughts going back to their previous near kiss and how weak she felt because of it.

 _'_ _Why am I so nervous...? I like him... he cares about me...and yet…_ _'_ she pondered as she leads the way, taking out their map.

Ryoga followed silently and quirked a brow as he had gotten the faintest of glances but he was almost certain he saw how flustered she looked.

 _'_ _I think she's just avoiding talking to me about it this time..._ _'_ he thought, lowering his head enough to cast a shadow over his eyes.

In truth Ranko wasn't actually paying that much attention to the map; they were on a dirt trail that would last a while, no, what had her so lost standoffish was how she tried to rationalize her actions.

 _'_ _I kept saying before that it wouldn't be fair to the guy but..._ _'_ she thought before letting her brain wander back to what had happened the day before and how close they had been.

Ryoga's gripe on the branch tightened as he finally looked up to the girl's back and opened his mouth, only to shut to immediately shut it as if he had said something impolite.

 _'_ _How do I even talk to her about this...? Hey, Ranko we were about to kiss last night and do you think we can...?_ _'_ Ryoga pondered then shook his head, rejecting the idea.

Unknowingly the redhead started to crumble the map inwards as she had been so preoccupied in her thoughts that she failed to notice how obvious she was being. For once she didn't have the need to be as it looked as though her friend was just as absorbed in their thoughts as she was.

 _'_ _I know I keep saying that but I've almost done it way too many times for it to be a coincidence, maybe I don't have a boyfriend or anything and I'm wasting what little time I got with him..._ _'_ Ranko thought lost in her thoughts so much that she hadn't even noticed a root sticking up from the ground.

Ryoga finished berating himself just in time to see Ranko's foot trip over a root and cause her to fall, reacting with one hand as quickly as he could he was able to grab his backpack from Ranko's back and then held her up in the air, where she dangled like a piñata. "You alright…?"

"Y-yeah... thanks..." she replied, as she felt him lower her properly enough to stand on her feet.

"You look distracted, Ranko…" Ryoga pushed, trying to maintain his composure although was finding it a bit hard. "Something on your mind…?"

"I don't wanna' talk about it right now..." Ranko began as she lowered her head and looked off to the side, feeling glad she wasn't standing behind him or by his side as she swallowed rather deeply.

"Oh..."

"B-But it's not like we'll never talk about it..." Ranko added as she looked to the map and blinked.

Ryoga felt the corner of his lips curling into a soft smile as he saw that his feelings weren't being dismissed but it was certainly better than thinking he had no chance at all.

 _'_ _I really hope if she gets her memories back she doesn't forget me,_ _'_ he thought as he stopped for a second as they went down a small hill but further up was a curve in the road, the trees and plant life so thick that seeing beyond it felt nearly impossible.

…

Eventually, they passed the curve and Ranko smirked as they reached the closest thing to a clearing they could find as farmland was now visible in the distance and further than that was a small village, but what also came into view was a long river that stretched beyond their vision.

Immediately upon reaching town, the two began asking around and eventually found themselves getting the attention of someone who knew they were speaking Japanese, although they couldn't really speak to one another but by the simple fact that Lotion had written the name of the store in Japanese characters they were at least able to pronounce the name of the store correctly enough for people to point them in the right direction.

"I think this is the place..." Ranko looked to the map and read on the supplies list what the store was called, she could see that the kanji character did indeed match.

"The town's smaller than I thought it'd be..." Ryoga commented.

"Yeah, it is..." Ranko muttered as she stepped into the store and immediately she noticed that there were a variety of household items, ranging from indoor decorations, outdoor decorations and various tools of many different crafts. "But people seem nice here, though..."

"Hello there! I've heard from some of the folk here about two teens chanting the name of my store..." the kind middle-aged patron announced as he was approached.

"Alright, finally some luck!" Ranko said in relief as she smiled and then gestured to herself. "My name's Ranko, and this here is my friend, Ryoga."

"Nice to meet you!" Ryoga bowed his head.

"My name is Hui Qing," he said before bowing his in respect and rising once more. "What brings you all the way out here to Shangjie?"

"We're here with a list..." Ryoga indicated as he swung the branch with the bag and retrieved the list poking out from the gap near the knot.

"I see; can I look at it?" he asked as he brought a set of kitchen knives onto the counter.

"Sure, here you go," Ranko said after reaching for the list and handing it over to Hui Qing.

"Hmm... this, too?" the store merchant read through the list and tilted his head back, narrowing his eyes. "I believe I have everything you'll need."

"Oh hey there's something else we're hoping to get!" Ryoga announced all of a sudden.

"Yes, what is it?" Hui Qing asked as he looked over his shoulder, climbing a ladder to reach for a pot on the top of a wooden shelf.

"We were hoping you'd know where we can get some Corly Weed?" Ranko asked as she plopped her backpack down and leaned against the counter near the register.

"Hmm... well, you couldn't find it here in Shangjie if you wanted but I may know ways you can acquire it..." he hummed in thought as he climbed down the steps of his ladder and began to make his way across the room with the list inside the pot he had taken down.

"If it's not too much trouble..." Ryoga said.

"You can find it if you follow the river further north where it grows, a yellow plant with thin branches," he paused while inspecting a ladle before taking that as well and grabbing a basket, putting the gardening tool in it before making his way over to the front counter, depositing the things he had gotten before reaching under the counter and producing a picture for them to see.

Both Ranko and Ryoga eyed it for a good while before Ranko reached out and took it.

"It's a valuable plant and often difficult to find, what with all the competing villagers who want to sell it, but if you find your luck wanting, I'd suggest perhaps going to Yakusai," Hui Qing finished as he rang their total and awaited payment.

The simple uttering of that village brought back some unpleasant memories for Ranko and Ryoga and some even rather embarrassing ones at that too. They both felt nervous and choose to avoid commenting on that before thanking him and of course, paying him for the supplies too of course.

 _…_

 _A while later..._

"Think this is the place..." Ranko stated, surveying their surroundings and looking around the edges of the river and the nearby forestry.

"Let's get to looking then," Ryoga remarked as he followed her example and began to walk further down to perhaps spot it a little ahead.

Searching for a little while they found a few plants, mostly ones they had never seen before nor cared to look into as they were there with a goal in mind: the Corly Weed.

"Hey! I think I found it!" Ryoga exclaimed as he stopped and pointed down at the plant in suspect.

"Lemme' see!" Ranko protested before moving over to her companion and comparing the picture with the plant.

"Well...?" Ryoga questioned, waiting for her reply.

"I think this is it, not much of it though... it's very small," she lamented. "The Yakusai herbalists were probably here before us…"

"Think it's enough for my cure...?"

"I hope so," Ranko said as she reached down and plucked the plant from the ground, giving it to Ryoga so he could put it in their backpack.

"Handover that Corly Weed," a man's voice urged as he spoke from further down the river, startling both Ryoga and Ranko, who weren't expecting any company.

"Who're you and why should I care...?" the redhead scoffed as she looked over to the mysterious cloaked man approaching them.

"Oh great..." Ryoga rolled his eyes; a petty thief? That was something he didn't need at the moment, he thought briefly and groaned in annoyance for having to deal with this.

"I'm not kidding, that's the last of the Corly Weed this season and the greedy merchants from Yakusai will pay a lot for it!" the clearly masculine voice declared before taking a step forward and holding out his hand insistently. "I must have the money for that herb and I'm not going to let two weaklings take what's mine, so give it up or you will suffer!" he warned, his eyes severe as he pointed at the pair.

"Gee, just go take a hike; can't you see we're busy?" Ranko ordered as she tried to pay him no mind.

Ryoga narrowed his eyes and tightened his grip on the plant. "Unlike you, we're not just doing this for profit..."

The lone figure chuckled bemusedly before turning his head to the side once.

"It really is unfortunate that you two would choose pain over a plant..." the man said as he reached for his cloak and tore it off, swiftly tossing it to the side, "Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Taro, and I... am your doom!"

* * *

 **Dr. Facer:** Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and yes, Taro is here, and there's a river nearby so… Anyway! The thing here is, can Ryoga and Ranko defeat him on their own? We'll see that next chapter! In the meantime, we would appreciate it if you can tell us what you thought of this chapter in the comments, thank you, everyone, for all your support!

 **DaisukiFox:** Wha!? Taro! I hope you guys remember this one from the anime and the manga! Because things are about to get intense! XD I hope this was worth the wait guys! Hope to see ya' in chapter 8!

Remember to favorite, alert and follow because we got more Lost Together coming in the future! Maybe even more fanart? XD

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 ** _Prescribing fluff from the Doctor~_**

 ** _Dr. Fluff~_**


	8. Chapter 8

Lost Together

Chapter 8

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Disclaimer: We do not own Ranma 1/2 in any way shape or form! So we ask you to please consider supporting the official release. XD

 **Dr. Facer** : Hello and welcome to a new episode of Lost Together! This is part two of the Taro arc and it will bring a couple of surprises as well as some more information about the Musk situation. I hope you enjoy this chapter!

 **DaisukiFox** : As Doc said we've got a lot in store for you! An extra long chapter! We really hope you guys enjoy it! I personally had a blast with my scenes in this chapter. We hope you guys can get some fun out of this too!

* * *

Three teenagers stood in silence, exchanging deep stares as they waited for one of them to make the first move. The wind blew gently around them, carrying with it both the scent of wet ground from the river near them and the lulling sound of running water. None of them paid attention to the peaceful atmosphere, however, as they were busy trying to find a way out of this strange stalemate that would get them each what they wanted.

Ryoga was concerned; he could see that this Taro person was not weak, though he couldn't truly tell how strong he really was, either. He hoped Taro didn't have any tricks or techniques down his sleeve that made him more dangerous than the Musk trackers or the Amazon kids they had fought earlier, as he was not exactly interested in fighting. He simply wanted to take back the Corly weed and other ingredients back to Lotion's so he could get his cure.

Ranko was starting to get annoyed and bored of waiting for this Taro guy to actually do something since she was convinced that even if this arrogant buffoon was strong, she wouldn't have any problem taking him out in a fight. But what the redhead wanted the most, however, was to complete this assignment quickly, since the sooner they finished it the faster they could start working on finding a cure for her amnesia, and that was her top priority.

Taro who had been initially surprised about meeting two Japanese teenagers here in the depths of the Chinese mountains ( _and he actually felt glad he bothered learning Japanese as that made it easier for him to deal with the irksome pair of foreigners_ ), was wary of making a move. Not because he was afraid of the Japanese kids, as he didn't fear anything and much less with a river so close; no, the reason why he was hesitating was that the guy seemed to be incredibly strong. Perhaps strong enough to be a challenge in a one on one fight. The girl on the other hand, while obviously strong, was surely weaker than her companion, not to mention she seemed to have a terrible personality. Taro smirked, he now had a plan, and the girl would be the key to make it work.

"Geez, do you plan on doing anything!?" Ranko complained as she shook her head. She turned to Ryoga, noticing he had yet to put the Corly weed in their backpack, sighed and did just that, using before a small sack to store the plant, so it wouldn't get damaged during their trip back to Lotion's farm.

"There, that'll be all!" She exclaimed and then patted Ryoga on the shoulder. "Let's get outta here Ryo. There's no need ta worry 'bout this chump. The guy's all bark and no bite..."

"Well, if you say so…" Pantyhose Taro said mockingly and in an almost sing-songy sort of way.

Ryoga's eyes were still on Taro, waiting in case he suddenly attacked them.

"Yeah, I do say so..." she grinned. "And If _'he'_ wants money he should just get a job! Like we did!"

"Oh sure, you only talk a big game but say your boyfriend here wasn't around?" Taro said with a level of smug arrogance that rivaled Ranko's own, this was the moment he had been waiting for. "That's exactly what a weak, cowardly, little girl would do..."

"What did you call me...?" Ranko hissed, glaring at Taro with rage in her eyes. "I'm not weak!"

"Sure, keep talking with that big guy behind you," Taro sneered, pleased that he had found the right buttons to push, making the girl angry and careless. "It only confirms what I said. That you're weak!"

"Oh yeah? Actions speak louder than words!" The insulted redhead declared, raising a fist at the mocking teen in front of her. "Let's fight! Just you 'n me! I'll wipe the floor with you in five seconds flat!"

"Oh? Very well, I accept," Taro smiled. "But if I win, I'll take the Corly weed!"

Ryoga frowned and stepped forward, the only things in his mind being that this thief was badmouthing Ranko and that he didn't want to lose the healing herb. "Saying those things to her is unacceptable! I'll be the one who fights you!"

The Lost Boy's declaration, however, did nothing to improve Ranko's mood. The redhead, already upset, fumed as she heard her best friend wanted to take her place. Groaning, she slapped Ryoga on the shoulder as hard as she could.

"Ryoga, what the hell?" she asked, glaring at him. "I'm not so weak I can't punch dat thief into next week on my own! Don't worry about yer stupid plant, cause I'm not gonna lose this, ya' hear me?"

The Hibiki boy took in a deep breath and looked a Ranko with concern in his eyes. He was certain their adversary had something planned; perhaps he would cheat or use a hidden weapon. But he also knew Ranko was very strong and skilled on her own, enough to possibly win without any trouble.

"Alright, Ranko," he said and stepped back so he could put his backpack on the ground. "But I'll take your place if you start losing..."

"That won't happen 'cuz he won't!" She promised with a confident grin. "I'll win!"

Taro, hands on his hips as he watched the little exchange, smiled once the redhead approached him. He waited until she was near to move closer to the river, stopping once he was only two or three steps away from it.

"What'cha planning?" Ranko asked as she followed, annoyed by what Taro was doing. "If ya think fightin' on wet ground's gonna make me slower or that I'll lose my balance then you're a bigger idiot than I thought..."

"I have my reasons for fighting here, but that's really none of your business..." Taro smiled mockingly, taking a defensive stance so he could better launch a quick counterattack to knock the girl out.

"You bet it isn't, I just wanna get this over with quickly," she said with a frown.

"You weak, little girl... you can't win," Taro repeated. He wanted to win swiftly so that the guy… Ryoga, was it? Would be more concerned over his girlfriend than the Corly weed.

"Stop saying that!" Ranko yelled. She rushed in and threw the first punch, aiming it straight at Taro's face, intending to end this fight with one hit.

Her fist, however, was easily blocked. She growled and followed her initial attack with five quick jabs to test her opponent's defenses, finding that Taro was indeed skilled enough to match her speed.

' _So he's not all talk…_ ' Ranko mused, surprised to discover he was actually somewhat skilled. ' _He's probably even better than that purple haired Amazon._ '

"You thought I couldn't fight?" Taro asked, slowly moving to the left. "That was a mistake."

With no further warning, he threw a quick punch, trying to hit the redhead in the chest but she effectively ducked under it, countering with a surprisingly fast uppercut that almost managed to hit him right in the chin, but Taro managed to lean back in time to avoid it.

' _Seems just punches ain't gonna do it for this guy,_ ' Ranko thought as she dodged three quick jabs and a right hook. ' _Time to switch strategies._ '

"You'll need to do better," Taro mocked, taking an offensive stand that would allow him to counter in case the redhead tried punching him again. "And stop being so predictable..."

"Let's see you predict this!" Ranko challenged, rushing in again and throwing a straight punch that Taro swiftly sidestepped.

 _'_ _Gotcha!_ ' she thought and, smirking confidently, used the impulse behind her first attack to turn it into a spinning kick aimed at her opponent's face. Ranko reasoned that even if he blocked, a solid kick would still cause damage, and hurting this moron's arms would weaken his punching strength, helping her get one step closer to victory.

Taro had to admit the girl's feint almost worked. She had thrown that punch to make him raise his defenses or dodge to the side, both things that would put him at a disadvantage against a high kick, which is just what she attacked him with immediately after. Unfortunately for the girl, he was just quick enough to duck under her leg, barely avoiding her heel.

But attacking him with a spinning kick had been stupid. The problem with such a move was that if it didn't connect the recovery time involved left the one kicking completely open to a solid counter. And Taro was willing to use that detail to his advantage.

Sliding in just as Ranko's kicking leg was touching the ground, Taro managed to slam his right elbow on the girl's stomach hard enough to send her scrambling back a few steps.

"Spinning kicks only work if they connect, fool," he mocked as he straightened. "But I guess, dumb, weak little girls! Wouldn't know that?"

Ranko, a hand over her stomach, gasped for breath and struggled to breathe. She quickly regained her footing, and for the first time since the fight started adopted a defensive stance. She pushed through her anger and managed to somewhat calm down, though the fact he'd managed to land the first strike was biting at her ego to no end.

"Ranko, let me help!" Ryoga offered; concern was evident in his voice, but that only fueled the redhead's determination further.

"No way!" she answered, flashing him an angry stare, which convinced him to stay still. "I said I'd win and I'm going to!"

A bit more serious now after telling Ryoga not to get involved, Ranko focused on Taro and eyed him carefully, trying to find an opening in his defense when she finally noticed a detail that she hadn't seen before and considered particularly odd. Taro's belt was not silk, as she first thought. It was pantyhose!

' _Why's he wearing that as a belt? Pantyhoses are for women!_ ' she thought, feeling disgusted by her discovery. ' _Wait… is he some kind of pantyhose fetish freak? What if he also likes being punched by girls? Uhmm… maybe he sniffs dose things when he's alone? Eeeeeew!_ _'_

"Thinking about giving up?" Taro taunted.

"You wish. I was just going to kick your ass for pissing me off, but now!" Ranko stated and then pointed at Taro with an expression of disgust. "I wanna punch your lights out for being such a revolting pervert!"

"Pervert?" Taro asked, not expecting her to say that and wondering what she meant until he recalled the pantyhose around his waist. The one he wore to always remember his grudge against the old man who cursed him with his unspeakable name!

Ranko, however, took full advantage of his distraction to land three strong punches on her adversary. She felt great about herself as she watched him double over in pain and struggle to stay on his feet, and she rushed in to deliver the final blow when he suddenly slammed his knee on her left side, making her wince and back a couple of steps to once again catch her breath.

' _Damn it, he still has this much juice in the tank?_ ' she wondered. ' _I hit him really hard, didn't I?_ '

Taro was in pain. His left hand was over his stomach, and both his shoulders were hurting badly. He understood the girl had hit him in the guts as payback for the first hit he landed. But why go for the shoulders?

' _I can't properly punch like this,_ ' Taro realized, opening his eyes in surprise. ' _Clever girl… and she's strong, too. I can't afford to let her hit me again or I might end up losing!_ '

He glared at the redhead, who was leaning forward and appeared to still have trouble breathing. She was clearly hurting as much as he was, but it seemed she was running out of energy, so he still had a chance to win without resorting to his secret weapon.

"Here!" He shouted, unleashing a quick kick to her face. Taken by surprise, Ranko yelped and blocked with both arms. He pressed on and kicked at her four more times, and each time she managed to block his attacks.

"What's with the face kicks, you jerk!?" She complained, hiding how much her forearms hurt.

"Protecting your face at all costs for your boyfriend, how typical," Taro laughed. "Typical and weak!"

"That's not it, I…" she stammered, she knew getting flustered in the middle of a fight was a mistake, but that was not why she was protecting her face. She simply didn't want to get hit in the head. She already had amnesia! Who knew what a strong impact would do to her brain? She could end up losing all her memories again!

Taro smirked. Despite her strength, the redhead was easily distracted by taunts and that was her main weakness; one that he was going to use to end the fight in a very painful way. Making her pay for hurting him!

Rushing in, Taro once again kneed the redhead's midsection as hard as he could, following this by smashing his right elbow between her shoulder blades, earning with this a yell of pain from the aggravating girl as she staggered, trying not to fall.

"Not yet," he said as he quickly reached for her left arm with one hand and her shirt with the other, using this to gain leverage and throw the girl over his head, slamming her hard on the muddy floor. She did not get up after that.

"I win," Taro declared, staring at Ryoga and doing his best to stand straight in order to hide how much pain he was in. The boyfriend didn't have to know that, after all.

"If you've hurt her…" Ryoga growled, baring his fangs and closing in with a fierce glow in his eyes.

"I didn't. I went easy on her as a favor to you," Taro said, hands on his hips in a dominant gesture, certain that this would be enough to calm the idiot boyfriend down. "Now give me the Corly weed, it's what we agreed."

Ranko was struggling not to faint. Her hip hurt, her stomach hurt, her arms hurt. She was, in fact, hurting all over. Was this how this fight would end? Was she going to lose? To a pantyhose fetish freak?

' _Like hell, I will! Especially not to some sleazeball!_ ' she thought. Gritting her teeth and using her remarkable stubbornness, Ranko managed to roll over her stomach and looked up to see Taro was distracted talking to Ryoga and claiming victory. That only angered her more. She could still fight!

"This ain't over yet!" She screamed, surprising both Taro and Ryoga.

"…How?" Taro frowned but was unable to say anything else for Ranko slammed her right leg on his abdomen with all her might, sending him reeling back almost all the way to the river.

"I'm not going to lose!" Ranko swore and followed her kick with a perfectly executed Amaguriken, hitting Taro's midsection hundreds of times in less than two seconds.

Taro, however, was still standing even after receiving such abuse, if only barely. He had both hands over his guts now, his knees trembled and he had to open his mouth to breathe. He tried to speak but instead noticed the metallic taste of blood in his tongue and stared with cold rage at the redhead.

"You… will regret… this!" He warned and, saying nothing else, dropped into the river.

"Well, that takes care of him," Ranko said but…

A massive monster emerged from the waters! The creature was similar to a Minotaur from ancient legends that dwarfed Ranma and Ryoga with his gigantic size!

The beast stared angrily at the two teenagers and growled…

* * *

A small gray bird perched itself on a thin branch as it tilted its head, watching as a long, rickety old cart was pulled along by two mules. In the back of the cart were Pink and Link, both looking relatively tense; in the front, the driver yawned and did his best to ignore the fuming twins in the back. The man wasn't exactly happy with this assignment and just wanted to complete it as soon as possible so he could go back to his store.

"If only we had found Ranko and Ryoga..." Link lamented as she sat on her knees, looking down at the straw beneath them that acted as the cushion between them and the hard wooden surface of the cart.

"Stupid Shampoo..." Pink complained while pouting with her eyes closed, "Wasting our time on a stupid goose chase..." she sighed begrudgingly, crossing her arms and drumming her fingers on the back of her arm.

Link slowly looked over to her sister and furrowed her brow as if she were about to lash out but ultimately could not find it in her to be too upset, as when she thought back to her actions and her words between Mousse and herself. "I don't like violence or getting in trouble..." she scoffed mockingly and quietly to herself.

"When we got back I was ready to take our Master Herbalist tests but this stupid punishment has us...!" Pink groaned as she bashed the back of her head against the box crate behind her.

"Sister! Quit complaining, if you please!" Link ordered loudly enough to actually rattle her fellow twin.

"Why should I?" Pink demanded as she jumped at the chance to argue.

"Wasn't it you who talked me into getting back at Shampoo?" Link questioned while shifting her center towards her sister, "Wasn't you who had to keep fighting with her whenever you got the chance?" she pressed further.

Pink cringed as she leaned back, shocked with her sister's sudden accusation but finally getting a word in edgewise she shut her eyes and just allowed the first thing to come to mind, "You could have talked me out of it!" she fired back while blushing in embarrassment.

"W-what are you saying?" Link's temper suddenly died out almost as quickly as someone blowing out a candle.

"I'm saying you're not the miss goody two shoes you try to show off!" Pink continued feeling a surge in confidence with Link's retort as she leaned in closer, fighting fire with fire. "So spare me the attitude, if you please!"

"Like that means so much coming from you!" Link countered as crossed her arms.

"Oh? How do I know you're not the reason we're out here?" Pink questioned while quirking a brow as she sat on her hands and knees.

"Was that before or after you started bickering with Shampoo?" Link asked as she avoided her sister's gaze, her eye twitching a few times.

"During!" she screamed so loudly that it even jarred her sister. "She didn't like you talking with Mousse so when we embarrassed her it was the last straw!" Pink finished and caught her breath.

"I-It's not like I was flirting with him as you did with Ryoga!" Link shot back in response with just as much bravado as Pink but she noticed that right after saying so, she hadn't heard the usual dismissive or loud burst she was expecting but rather she could only hear the sound of silence.

"T-That's different!" Pink blushed as she now sat on her knees and balled her hands into fists on her lap.

"How so?" Link demanded to know as she quirked a skeptical brow, watching as her sister closed her eyes.

"Because I'm honest about it at least..." she admitted while blushing.

"I don't know what you're talkin' about..." Link averted her eyes as if suddenly finding the vast Chinese forests interesting.

"I saw you falling under his spell, too!"

"T-That's different be-because I know he's taken!" Link defended as she struggled for more comebacks to throw back.

"Sister! We really mustn't...!" Pink closed her eyes and made a gushy face while pretending to hug an arm in the air, reminding her sister about how she acted when Ryoga was near.

Link gawked and hated that her sister was to an extent, right. "You're still the reason we're stuck doing all this!" Link exclaimed before she went back to observing the oh-so-intriguing expanse of trees that she had been looking to earlier.

"Go ahead! Ignore me!" Pink huffed as she unintentionally mimicked her sister's action and proceeded to pout on her side of their mule powered cart.

They sat in silence or as silent as it could get with all the distant echoes of wildlife emanating around them and if that wasn't enough their rickety cart rattled along with the sounds of mules braying calmly and annoyingly.

It wasn't until about the sixth mule grunt that the poison kanji twin sighed, "I'm sorry for talking you into it..." she looked off to the side as her face softened.

"I'll admit, I really enjoyed it..." Link offered her own confession and even sounded a bit ashamed.

Pink, on the other hand, couldn't help but look over her shoulder and smile encouragingly, "You should do it more often..." she suggested with a snarky smirk.

Link chuckled but rolled her eyes and looked off to the side, "I have to wonder why the Amazons asked to send more supplies," she looked over her shoulder as some had the same symbol as Pink's chest plate. "Especially like these..."

Leaning back and putting her hands behind her head the poison sister looked off to the side, "I heard they've angered a whole village..."

"Huh...?" Link blinked in shock and looked at her sister who had moved so that she was on her side.

"So-so much so that they may have caused a war between villages in the whole Bayankara region..." Pink tried to say as if it were the most casual thing to bring up.

"And where did you hear this, dear sister...?" Link inquired cautiously.

"Just someone I know..." Pink answered, yet again trying and failing, to be casual about her information.

"You really shouldn't listen to everything you hear at those poison shops..." Link warned as if scolding her sister for hanging around those places, especially with the kind of people it attracted. "Some _bandits_ frequent those if you please!"

"Better than hanging around the clinic just to learn about medicinal plants like you do, _Dear Sister_..." Pink replied sounding a bit annoyed. "They're full of sick people if _you_ please...!"

 _"Brayyy...!"_

The two mules cried frantically, falling back and kicking frantically until the driver managed to calm them down. The terrified animals ended being paralyzed in fear of the two that stood before them. The driver, who could tell from where the strangers in the middle of the road came from, simply jumped off the cart and ran back to Yakusai as fast as he could; they didn't pay him enough to deal with people like them!

"What's going on...?" both twins asked looking to one another, immediately looking annoyed for having asked each other the same question.

"Did you hear that Mint? There's two of em'..." Lime commented as he stood before the frozen by fright animals.

"Yeah, they sounded really cute too..." Mint added as he walked next to his companion. "Almost identical even..."

It was at that moment that the twins peeked their heads over their cargo to see that the driver was gone and that on the road stood two teenagers with some traits that identified them as members of The Musk. Their first response was to shriek and hug one another and then immediately stop as they noticed that neither was making any sudden moves.

The two Musk clan members had leaned closer to one another, speaking among themselves, "Mint they're both so beautiful and even have great breasts from the looks of it..." Lime muttered as his gaze focused on the twin with the medicine kanji.

"I'll say... even if they're alike..." Mint blushed but maintained a strong and cold look, to him he thought he was just coming off as stern and confident but actually just looked rather upset.

"Why are they just staring...?" Pink questioned while whispering.

"I don't know, sister..." Link whispered in return as she managed to let go of Pink who in turn did the same.

"I'll do it..." Mint stepped forward as he pushed past Lime, his hands on his hips. "Hey, you two! We were wondering if either of you has come across a girl with unusually bright red hair and blue eyes!"

"It's actually her and another guy that's helping her..." Lime added.

"I was getting to that..." Mint looked off to the side before standing immediately by Pink's side, presenting her with a bouquet of flowers.

Like anyone not accustomed to seeing someone move at such blinding speeds the two shrieked but it seemed that upon discovering such a lovely display. Calming down a little, Pink reached out for it and took it in her hands.

"Thank you...?" she asked cautiously sounding surprised and realized that the Musk teenagers didn't seem to be immediate threats but did not know how to properly react as their actions didn't reflect their words.

"I am confused...? Are you two sparing us because you wish to ask my sister out on a date...?" Link inquired while sounding both scared and confused.

"Well, I wouldn't say a date at first but maybe tea..." Lime began walking over to the other twin.

Who in upon hearing his interest in her she looked over to her sister in a desperate attempt for help but instead of finding an encouraging look she was face to face with the exact same expression as hers. "T-this red-haired girl of yours...?" Link answered suddenly, hoping to change the subject.

"You have something on her...?" Lime asked as he took a step closer to the twins.

"Y-yes! But I humbly ask you to give my sister and me a moment to think in private!" She asked clasping her hands together with her eyes closed.

"Oh, yes! We help each other like that!" Pink spoke up, saying anything in hopes of getting out of this predicament.

"Okay but try not to go too far..." Mint said with a very stern expression as though it were coming off as a warning.

"If you please!" Link insisted making her eyes somewhat cutesy for Lime.

"So-so we'll be right back..." Pink began and gave a hesitant wink to Mint.

"O-okay..." Mint's eyes widened as her half-hearted attempt was enough to convince him.

The two went a good five feet before coming to an abrupt stop as they were hunched over, "So what's the plan?" Pink whispered nervously while still holding the flowers from Mint.

"They're asking about Ranko and Ryoga and I'm not sure if we should tell them..." Link said, voicing her concern as although she hadn't thought much of Ranko but she did feel inclined to help the Lost Boy.

"But wouldn't it be dangerous not to tell them anything?" Pink said her own voice reflecting a pang of similar guilt in her.

"I don't care much for Ranko..." Link revealed.

"Neither do I..." Pink unfortunately concurred.

"So let's spare Ryoga then!" they whispered and smiled at the same time to one another.

The twins turned around with their hands behind their backs and regarded the Musk teenagers with what they hoped looked like honest smiles.

"You see there was this one woman we happened across that matches that exact description!" Pink announced suddenly as that got the two Musk teens to look considerably happier.

"Really...?" Lime questioned as she closed his palms into fists and leaned closer to the girls in excitement.

"Really?" Mint looked to Link.

"Y-Yes! We even helped her out of the village so we can even point you in the right direction!" Link boasted in hopes of ensuring the two enough for them to be on their way.

Pink, on the other hand, looked to her sister in shock, _'_ _Sister! That sounds like we were helping friends!_ _'_ she thought and hoped dearly that it wouldn't implicate them in anything.

Mint and Lime's eyes widened as they remained silent, looking to one another before nodding their heads. Mint made his way over to the girl's as though he were a hunter stalking their prey, reaching into his sleeve.

Pink's eyes widened when she saw the rope in his hands and thankful to have their hands behind their back as in her palm was a small ball with a button on it, her thumb positioned right over the trigger.

"Sister!" Link cried as the second she opened her eyes she could see Mint's form dashing over to Pink.

"Got-" Pink exclaimed, preparing to use her secret weapon.

But before the ball could even leave her hand, Mint swiftly kicked it out of her palm, rendering her attack useless. "Ow!" she cried.

Focusing solely on the task at hand Mint, with only a momentary pause, swarmed the daring poison twin.

"Don't think we forgot you!" Lime shouted as he lurched forward and attempted to grab the medicinal twin who gasped as her sister's mandragora seeds bomb had been thrown off to the side.

"No!" Link exclaimed as she tried to move away from Lime, forced to show that she had been hiding a watering pail and a fan.

There was very little time for her to react as their whole scheme had come undone so quickly that even though Link struggled to escape she wasn't lucky enough to dodge Lime as she was caught by her ankle.

"Aiya!" Link screamed as her chin hit the ground.

"Got her!" Lime exclaimed coming to stand, relatively fine from landing on his stomach to catch the fleeing Yakusai herbalist.

"Good job!" Mint complimented before repeating his actions, bounding the other twin by her ankles and wrists.

"Let's go..." Lime ordered as his friend nodded.

"Let's..." Mint put his hands in his sleeves.

His friend leaned down and picked Link up before flinging her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, doing the same with the other incapacitated sister while they fought against their restraints.

"What did I say?" Link struggled against her restraints but could do little more than wiggle like a worm.

"I was afraid of this..." Pink groaned in annoyance and tears.

Neither chooses to answer Link's question but rather continued to move through the forest. The mule's finally seeing a way out turned tail and ran back to Yakusai as far as their stubby legs could carry them.

"Why do you have to be so honest...?" Pink asked while groaning in anger.

"I'm afraid it may be my greatest curse..." Link lamented the fact as she lowered her head in shame.

"So what now, Dear Sister...?" The poison kanji sister asked.

"Allow me to fix this if you please..." Link answered as she closed her eyes and hoped she could form some kind of plan, _'_ _I've gotten us out of trouble before, I can do so again..._ _'_ she thought.

"Hey Mint..."

"Yeah, Lime...?"

"Think if we ask Lord Herb nicely, he'll let both of let us keep one of these girls?"

"W-What!?" the two twins cried at the same time.

* * *

Stars began to dot the dark blue skies. The moon already partially visible, its dim glow blanketed the land and even through the window to an old, wooden cabin.

The Lost Boy rested on his back, his limbs shifting under him, fighting some sort of nightmare. His head turned from left to right every second or so. "No…!" he muttered as the moon's gentle hue glided over his eyes.

"Ranko!" Ryoga cried out as opened his eyes, feeling the cold sting of his sweat trickle down the sides of his face.

"Ran-ko…?" An old man in a hardhat said before blinking in surprise.

"Where am I?" he questioned while panting softly, trying to regain composure as he stared at the wooden ceiling above him. "Wh-what happened to Ranko...?" he demanded, squinting his eyes as he attempted to sit up.

All the while the old man appeared unsure of how to reply, his hand over his mouth in contemplation. That was until the stranger clad in yellow tried to sit up. His groans of pain immediately following as he hugged his torso and could feel the lining of bandages all over it.

"Hold on now!" he warned.

"Why does my chest hurt...?" Ryoga grunted as sitting up seemed look all he could manage.

"That's because my herbal remedy hasn't kicked in yet..." The construction worker assured him as he ushered Ryoga to rest on his back by gently pushing down on his shoulder.

Ryoga looked to him and stared for a moment before closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, "Please, I have to know..." he spoke struggling to keep a tamed tone. "Where am I and where can I find a girl with red hair and blue eyes?" he asked, changing up his questions in hopes of getting where he needed to be; by Ranko's side.

"I'd say you're mad but I saw what that thing did to you..." the old man mumbled begrudgingly.

"This...?" Ryoga mumbled as he looked down to his chest bandages.

"Still think you're either just crazy or crazy in love..." he sighed heavily and put his hand to his head.

Ryoga's response was silence as he looked off to the side, even though he knew the moment was urgent. He couldn't help but feel his face heat up at the mention of him and Ranko being romantically involved.

"Before I start..." the wise stranger picked up a cup of tea he had set nearby on a small tray with two cups. "Drink this, it'll help you heal even faster now that you're at least conscious..." he encouraged as he held it out in front of the teen.

Faced with the difficult choice of taking what likely was bland tasting medicine the Lost Boy's heart told him to do it, the image of Ranko in his arms flashed in his mind, he released a held back breath he didn't even know he had. Furrowing his brow the raven-haired teen shut his eyes tightly and like being peer pressured into drinking more. He downed the whole cup in one single go.

Eyes shrinking for a moment, the elderly looking construction worker was shocked to see someone take a cup of tea like that just to be over with it.

Ryoga attempted to reach his hand to fan over his mouth as he tried cooling his insides by panting continuously and deeply. The instant his hand tried he froze as his torso shifted a little, causing him to cringe and drop the cup on the floor. He gritted his teeth and bared the pain shooting through him, looking to his savior for answers.

"Try not to make any sudden movements, I told you it has to kick in so just give it a few hours or so..."

"Do I even have an-" Ryoga panted, froze in place and gently eased his arms to his sides. "A-an hour...?" he questioned with a deeply concerned tone.

About to give a reply but stopping himself he chuckled and rubbed the back of his head, "Where are my manners?" he asked before clearing his throat. "My name is Dan Lo," he introduced, bowing his head as he sat on his knees.

"Hibiki, Ryoga Hibiki..." he replied, returning the favor by giving his name in return.

"I happened across you after me and my crew heard some commotion while working on the bridge, none of us liked the sound of it but I just so happen to be a kind enough soul to go and check if anyone could be in danger..." He said chuckling nervously.

"Lucky me then..." Ryoga half-hearted laughed, giving an appreciative smile to the kind elder.

"Even luckier that I speak Japanese or talking would have been a nightmare..." He chuckled but noticed that Ryoga appeared far too distracted to even humor him. "So when I happened across you lot, I first saw your redhead friend, probably this Ranko you've been mentioning...?" He asked curiously.

He earned a nod of agreement from the Hibiki boy.

"The first time I saw her, she was getting attacked by something, looked like a demon mutant or I don't know, I would have intervened but I'm pretty sure I would have only gotten in the way."

"So what'd you end up doing...?"

"Hide behind a tree and waited heroically for an opportunity to save you two, of course..." Dan Lo cleared his throat and avoided eye contact.

"Yeah..." Ryoga looked off to the side, clearly not buying that.

"As I was saying," Dan Lo continued…

 _…_

 _Ranko and Ryoga stared in horror as their enemy had taken on a vastly different form. He leered hatefully before charging the startled redhead. Luckily she was able to snap out of it and dodge the beast's attack._

 _"How is that thing so fast...?" Dan Lo muttered as he saw the redhead struggle to evade the attacks._

 _"Kachū Tenshin Amaguriken!" Ranko let out what sounded like a war cry and leaped into the air._

 _The horrific monstrosity brought up both arms, withstanding the girl's fierce attacks. Ranko was positioned at such an angle that the force of her blows alone could keep her airborne as well as allow gravity to factor in her body weight along with each hit._

 _Taro mockingly chuckled before backhanding Ranko while in the air, sending her falling into the water with what looked to be the force of a canon._

 _"Ranko!" Ryoga cried as he reached his hand out, eyes trembling in fear._

 _Dan Lo watched in horror as he figured she might have hit the bottom of the stream. The only thing that could draw him out from his stupor had to be, the gloating coming from the mad Minotaur creature._

 _Chinnkkk...!_

 _"Huh?" Dan Lo mutter as he noticed a yellow blur struck the monster before flying off and impaling a tree. "Was that a headband...?" he looked over to the Lost Boy and saw him grab at his forehead and produce various headbands._

 _Their attacker snarled in surprise before closing one of his eyes, blood starting to blind his vision. It looked to the only other combatant capable of wounding him. It roared as if were a bull about to run through a red cape._

 _"Come get some you overgrown freak!" Ryoga exclaimed as he rained sharp hail in the form of ki infused bandannas._

 _"Oh my..." Dan Lo put his hand over his mouth but as he did, he noticed something oddly red at the corner of his eye and saw that redhead from earlier was fine. Able to claw her way out of the water and reach the shore before collapsing from exhaustion; the back of her head facing the scared construction worker._

 _Pantyhose Taro with a burning hatred from the looks of it evaded Ryoga's bandannas before charging over to him as he had done to Ranko. He sidestepped the first wave and then ran a little closer before leaping into the air and batting his massive wings to send the incoming bandannas hurling back._

 _"Argh!" Ryoga's eyes widened as some had been shot right back at him, so he was forced to dodge them._

 _This proved to be a mistake as the vicious cursed creature took this as its chance to strike, dive bombing towards Ryoga with his massive hook reeled back; its fist crashed straight into the raven-haired teen's chest. It was so intense that Ryoga attempted to resist it but could only skid on his heels, succumbing to the force of Taro's attack._

 _Dan Lo's eyes widened as he turned back to see the yellow clad martial artist had been punched into a crater. With a crestfallen look, he took his hard hat off as a sign of respect._

 _From there the monster straightened its back before snorting like a bull, looking around it went over to a cape nearby and lifted it to reveal a bag. The Dan Lo in the memory appeared quite impressed by how he was able to do what appeared to be a magic trick. It pulled out what looked like a soup thermos._

 _Dan Lo was then shocked to see the hulking mass of terror revert to a nude teen with brown hair but looked away as quickly as he could while the nude teen proceeded to screw the lid back on the thermos. The old construction worker looked away until he heard an odd stretching sound, fearing he may try to gag her he looked back to see that PantyHose Taro was now standing in front of a bush, his waistline obscured as he held a ball made of Pantyhoses._

 _Dan Lo was thankful there was a bush in the way, he had to wonder what the naked teen was going to do and if he could perhaps help one of these two strangers. He watched as Taro ran through the forest until stopping near the shoreline where the redhead was._

 _He reached for the ball in hand and yanked out from it a few pantyhose, which he then used to tie Ranko up by her ankles and wrists._

 _…_

"What a goddamn sicko! Tying women with pantyhose!" Ryoga interrupted mid-explanation.

"Calm down, there's still more..." Dan Lo implored as he held his hands out defensively.

"Go on..." Ryoga urged begrudgingly.

…

 _Taro after swinging an unconscious Ranko over his shoulder went back over to his bag and pulled out a piece of paper and a feather pen. Writing and humming to himself for a few seconds he dotted his work and reached one hand back into his bag to retrieve a note, in order to stuff his message in._

 _Dan Lo noticed the teen looking around, not wanting to be found the old man ducked back behind his tree._

 _"Old man behind that tree, there's something I need you to do for me!"_

 _…_

"That's when, well..." Dan Lo struggled to say as he reached into his overalls.

"He took Ranko?" Ryoga muttered as he felt great shame for failing his friend and possible girlfriend.

"Yes..." Dan Lo confirmed. "He also told me to give this to you..." He revealed as he held out the note from the explanation.

Ryoga went silent as if taking a sudden vow of silence but hesitantly still reached for it.

"He jumped in the river and changed back into that fiend before flying off with that lady friend of yours..." he finished as he reached for his hat in regret. "And that if you don't do what it says, your girlfriend will suffer the consequences..." Dan Lo added with a sigh.

Ryoga tightened his grip on the note as he held it with both hands, crumpling it a little before opening it and reading it aloud.

"I'm leaving you the bag with the Corly weed as a reward for being able to cut my face, but I am taking your woman with me as compensation for the same reason. If you want her back, bring the plant to the top of Fist Rock, we'll have a rematch there tomorrow at dawn.

If I win, I take the herb and get to pound you into paste in front of your woman.

If you win, not that you will, you may keep the plant and I'll return your girlfriend.

But if you don't come, I don't know what I'll do to her.

P. Taro."

"That bastard...!" Ryoga declared as he allowed anger to drive his actions.

"Ryoga, Please!" the wise elder held his hands out as he watched Ryoga's injured form make his way over to the cabin door.

"Ah!" Ryoga groaned as he doubled over in pain, luckily he caught himself before falling face first.

"Careful!" Dan Lo groaned in annoyance before rushing over to him and helping him off his knees and hand.

"Argh..." Ryoga groaned as he instinctively held his hand over his lungs; his breaths were so haggard and strained that it felt like he was choking.

Hoisted from his side like a wounded soldier, Ryoga was lead back to his bed. There was a brief struggle but the kind old man didn't know if it was because the boy was stubborn or just writhing in pain.

"To think you're moving this much already," Dan Lo commented. "I'd say you'd even be up and about in..." He paused, inspecting Ryoga's condition. "A couple of hours..."

As much as it pained him to delay his rescue attempt, the note even said he had until at least dawn, _'_ _Ranko's as good as doomed if I don't get going as soon as possible!_ _'_ he thought, letting his imagination run wild, seeing himself lost in the dark woods while calling Ranko's name.

"I said calm down...!" Dan Lo urged as he put his hands on Ryoga's shoulders. "Do you even know where Fist Rock is?"

"No! I don't! That's the least of my worries if I don't get going..." Ryoga admitted as he was basically just spelling out that he was a foreigner.

"It'd take even longer if you tried rushing out in that condition!" Dan Lo sighed deeply and put his hand to his cheek, _'_ _Was I anywhere this stubborn as a teen?_ _'_ he pondered.

Ryoga grit his teeth and shut his eyes, letting the hand that was gripping at his bandages flop to his sides. "Without Ranko, I don't think I'll even find the place..." he admitted and then paused and he looked to the aged construction worker.

"What, did you two get lost in the middle of your honeymoon or something...?" He asked, unsure of what to say as being asked to help someone to track down a man who could transform into a raging bull demon; it wasn't an easy sell.

"Please, you don't have to get involved..." Ryoga said while blushing a little but neither confirming his suspicions. "But could you…?"

"It's alright, I suppose. I have time, what with the entire crew scared witless from that mess you got into..." Dan Lo sighed and crossed his arms.

This came as good news to Ryoga or at least enough to placate his burning need to thrash P. Taro. Though he quickly settled into trying to avoid thinking about the terrible things he could possibly be doing to Ranko. First, he envisioned Taro reaching for her neck to choke Ranko, or throwing her down a river with her arms and legs bound with those pantyhose he was known for.

Shutting his eyes tightly the distressed teenager instead tried to keep his mind busy by frantically inspecting his current location. One thing he noticed about this strange cabin was just how much construction-related materials were there.

"Sorry we don't keep a guest house at the ready, but you are near a construction site," Dan Lo explained, scratching the side of his head.

With that question answered Ryoga found his current state of mind to be that of a child's when they had nothing to do; be impatient. What did he hope to accomplish? It literally swatted them like flies and now he had to ready himself for a fight with that?

"I know I said I have to go but..."

"Huh...?"

"I have no idea how I'm going to take that _'thing'_ down..." Ryoga answered as he looked to the ceiling.

"I have a feeling that lad maybe one of those Jusenkyo victims..."

"Jusenkyo victims?" Ryoga asked with a slight gasp in his tone, not liking anything with the word 'victim' in it.

"Legend goes whatever falls in those springs comes out as whatever drowned in them when splashed with cold water..."

"Then warm water must turn him back..." Ryoga muttered.

"For this very reason, I suggest you never visit that cursed place," Dan Lo warned with a genuinely concerned expression across his wrinkled face.

"Don't worry, I don't intend to..." Ryoga said, offering no objections to such sound advice.

They found themselves at a loss for words for at the moment what Ryoga had failed to notice was the deep look of concentration Dan Lo was experiencing right beside him.

"So how worried are you about your girlfriend, boy?" Dan Lo asked in a deep and serious tone.

Ryoga could sense the intensity in the elder's words and felt compelled to meet it head-on, "She means a lot to me, probably more than anyone else I've met in my entire life..." Ryoga's fire faded but only to open his chest to the passion that drove his heart.

"Sounds like you'd do anything for her..." Dan Lo's voice sounded amused.

"Without a doubt in my mind!" Ryoga openly admitted and found his mood brightening.

Dan Lo hummed in such a way that Ryoga was unable to tell how his temporary guardian angel was seeing all this but given how kind he had been up to this point, he could only presume he wished to help in some way.

He stood up and made his way over to the corner of the room, picking up a box before opening it as inside where a few scrolls, neatly packed together. Plucking two from the bundle he closed the lid before putting the box down. "Then I might be able to help, you see these two scrolls are construction techniques but from what I've heard they were converted from actual attacks... so they should be more than handy in a fight..."

"Really...?" Ryoga gawked in awe.

"I can teach you overnight if you allow yourself some time to heal," The kind working class man offered.

"What are these techniques called...?" Ryoga asked.

 _"The Bakusai Tenketsu and Shi Shi Hokodan..."_

* * *

The Bayankara mountain range is home to many natural wonders: pristine rivers, beautiful lakes, lush forests, and tall mountains can all be found here. One of these wonders is without a doubt the peculiar Fist Rock, a massive stone formation resting not too far away from Mount Phoenix. As its name indicates, Fist Rock resembles a hand tightly closed into a fist resting on its side. Being quite large and over twenty meters tall from top to bottom, about thirty from one side to the other and with a circumference of around fifty meters. Another interesting detail is that, for those who dare, it is possible to climb Fist Rock as several dents, hollows and indentations in the 'fingers' of the fist provide those who are brave enough with enough places they can use to pull themselves up. And, if anyone did manage to reach the very top, they would find a pond in the middle of a plateau and beyond it a small, run-down hut, rumored to have been built, and then abandoned, by the bird people of Mount Phoenix many, many years before.

And inside this deteriorated log cabin, a sleeping redhead tossed and turned on the floor as she struggled through a nightmare.

"That's not a panda… he's my dad…" Ranko murmured; she was still sleeping, but in her dreams, she was trying to convince a poacher not to kill her father, who for some strange reason was a huge panda.

The dream slowly faded into darkness, replaced then by another one, a nightmare of a great hairy demon chasing her into a river. She tried to escape the large devil, but it was impossible, it caught her in a massive fist and then pushed her underwater, trying to drown her!

"No!" Ranko gasped, her eyes darting open.

She remained still for a moment, letting her eyes adjust until she could see properly. The room she was in was dimly illuminated, but she could tell there was no furniture here; it was just an empty shack. She could smell smoke and the faint flickering light that came with fire crept from her left. Shifting so she could see in that direction, she found an open door and, outside, she saw someone, a young man it seemed, sitting by a small fire, probably to warm himself and keep the mountain beasts at bay. She was about to walk out and talk to him when she noticed she couldn't really move to stand. She struggled a little and discovered her hands were tied to her back and that her feet were bound at the ankles.

"What's this?" she muttered, finding that while she could stretch her binds, she could not get free of them no matter how much she tried. She was effectively immobilized! Looking carefully at her feet, she noticed the person who brought her here had used pantyhose to restrain her.

' _Wait, I remember now!_ ' Ranko thought, her mind filling with images of her fight with Taro, how she noticed he wore pantyhose around his waist, then the moment she defeated him and how he emerged from the river transformed into a gigantic creature so powerful it defeated her and Ryoga with incredible ease. ' _No wonder we took a beating, that freak can turn into a monster!_ '

"It's useless to struggle," Taro said then. He was standing by the hut's entrance, leaning on the door's frame while he sipped warm tea from a shiny aluminum cup. "That's quality pantyhose; you won't be able to tear it."

"It figures…" Ranko hissed, feeling furious about being bound with the garment, something she considered an unforgivable insult, "That a sick, perverted pantyhose fetish freak like you would do this to me!"

Taro sighed and slowly walked until he was in front of the redhead. He smiled politely at her and then splashed the cup's warm contents on her. This resulted in Ranko screaming in agony and squirming in pain for several seconds until the pain receded and became bearable.

"Bah, the tea wasn't even that hot, no need to overreact," the young man said, not impressed by the redhead's cries. "That little act won't gain you any sympathy from me, you know? I don't care that you're a woman so cut the melodrama, I know that didn't hurt you."

"Bastard, that was too hot!" Ranko managed to get out. She had curled into a ball, trembling a little as shades of pain coursed through her skin. Looking up at her tormentor, she noticed something that helped distracted her from her misery.

' _That's dry blood on his forehead,_ ' she realized, her eyes focusing on Taro's face. ' _I didn't give him that wound, so… Ryoga?_ '

She took in a deep breath and managed to get back on her knees. Knowing Ryoga got a good one in had helped her recover some of her usual confidence. "He got you, didn't he? Got you bad enough to make you bleed."

"Your stupid boyfriend got lucky, that's all," Taro refuted with a frown.

"Ryoga is not my boyfriend," Ranko weakly disputed, then smirked in defiance and said, "but that doesn't matter… what matters is that he cut you."

"It won't happen again, and I'll pay him back tenfold for it," Taro swore with a cold voice. "By the time I'm done with him, he'll be bleeding from every pore!"

"That's not gonna happen, we'll kick your butt," she assured him with a cheeky grin.

"I'd like to see that… and now that I remember, I still haven't forgiven you for all those gut punches during our fight, but I'll deal with you after I've crushed that fool Ryoga," he said, arms crossed as he frowned at her. "I think I'll simply drop you on some deserted island, I bet that would be the perfect punishment for a girl as annoying as you."

"You only say that because you're afraid of fighting me again," Ranko answered. "But we can't expect better from a perverted pantyhose coward, can we?"

"You really don't know when to shut up, do you?" Taro asked, not pleased at being called by his horrendous name.

"I'm…" Ranko started, but her words were cut short when Taro kicked her hard on the stomach, driving the wind out of her and causing her to double over, coughing and trying to regain her breath with painful gasps.

"You're the only one to blame," the young man said as he walked out of the shack. "That was for the gut punches, be glad I only kicked you once!"

Not waiting for any further replies from the redhead, Taro marched to the pond outside and sat again next to the fire. He expected her to throw more insults at him, but it seemed she had learned her lesson and would be quiet for the rest of the night, which pleased him. He reached for the pot he kept hanging above the flames and refilled his cup with tea, drinking a sip and then grabbing a few rice crackers from his bag. It wasn't the best dinner, but it would be enough for the night, and he would be able to buy something fancier, and much tastier, once he'd sold the Corly weed in Yakusai.

 _Back inside the cabin…_

Ranko coughed a few times and remained very still, waiting until she recovered enough to take in a deep breath. She focused on breathing, taking in the air several times until her stomach stopped protesting the abuse. It took her a moment longer to feel well enough to move, so her back was resting against the wall. She was uncomfortable and a little numb, and she really hoped she would feel better next morning because otherwise escaping this pantyhose pervert was not going to be an easy task.

' _But I haven't the foggiest idea on how we're going to beat the guy's Minotaur form,_ ' she thought. Bits and pieces of the fight against the creature came back to her then. She recalled that the moment Taro came out of the river transformed into a beast she and Ryoga were too shocked to move, and the monster took advantage of it, swatting her into the river. She recalled how painful the impact was and… that was it. ' _I don't remember getting out of the water or anything else afterward. At least I didn't lose my memory again..._ '

The redhead sighed and wondered if that Minotaur thing even had a weak point. She shuddered at the memory of the creature and decided that it probably didn't have one. Sure, Ryoga had managed to hurt it, but what was a simple cut to a beast so big? Certainly nothing but a scratch. Thinking about scratches reminded Ranko of her own Neko-Ken technique. She had managed to match Lotion and even hurt her when she was in that feral cat state, so maybe she could use that to fight Taro?

' _But there aren't any cats here to trigger the technique, and I don't wanna see any cats or act like one ever again,_ ' Ranko frowned, what else could they try? Her Amaguriken would probably be useless against the beast, and she doubted Ryoga's Bakusai Tenketsu could hurt it either. ' _Damn, I bet the only person we know who can beat that monster is Lotion, but there's no way to call her. I think… I think I'm really in over my head this time…_ '

An image of Ryoga entered her mind, and she wondered how he was. Was he injured? What if the monster had hurt him badly? Could he be agonizing in that river? Was he… dead? No, he couldn't be, not Ryoga! He was strong enough to be crushed by huge boulders and walk away unhurt.

But Ryoga had never fought a monster as strong as Taro's Minotaur form.

' _But he's fine!_ _He has to be!_ ' she thought, rejecting even the faintest idea of Ryoga being wounded. Because thinking about him defeated and in pain filled her with anguish so powerful she could barely tolerate it. ' _Please Ryoga… not like this!_ '

Worried beyond herself, Ranko looked at Taro and decided she would have to risk talking to him again. It was the only way she had of knowing how Ryoga was.

"Hey, pantyhose creep!"

Taro stiffened, waited for a moment in order to calm down and then got up, turning to look at her but not getting inside the house. "What do you want now, another beating?"

"Where is Ryoga?"

"Your boyfriend is alive, and he should be here by dawn… if he really cares enough about you to come to rescue you, that is," he answered with a bored tone.

"I don't need him to. I'll escape on my own, you'll see!" Ranko said, trying to sound determined and managing it thanks to how relieved she felt after hearing Ryoga wasn't dead.

"Heh, that's a good joke!" Taro laughed. He turned his back to her and sat again, resuming his modest dinner of tea and crackers.

Behind him, Ranko dared to smile discreetly. Ryoga didn't die and he was coming for her! She knew she should be angry at him for coming to rescue her as if she couldn't deal with this situation on her own, but… the truth was she felt incredibly grateful.

' _He lives!_ ' she sighed, feeling her heart getting warmer. ' _I was so worried, I thought he…_ '

Ranko blinked. This strong emotion she was experiencing… was it normal to feel such joy? Just because he was alive? Yes, she decided, it was normal. And it was normal because she cared for him.

' _But maybe… maybe what I feel for him is stronger than me just caring for him,_ ' she mused, leaning her head on the wall, deep in thought as she stared at the ceiling. ' _He's important to me… without him I… I just don't know what I'd do… Ryoga…_ '

Ranko flushed and lowered her face as she breathed deep. Was she… was she in love with him? She really couldn't tell but… maybe seeing Ryoga again would give her an answer?

' _I think… I think I should have kissed him when I had the chance,_ ' she thought then. ' _Because the way things are now, I don't know if I'll ever get dat chance again..."_

Strangely calm now that she had somewhat come to terms with how she felt for Ryoga, the redhead yawned and felt suddenly tired, hungry, spent and in need of rest. Ranko didn't want to sleep but realized that a short nap would surely help her recover some of her strength.

' _Being the damsel in distress sucks…_ ' she thought as she closed her eyes. ' _But when Ryoga comes for me we'll both punch that pantyhose pervert all the way to Taiwan…_ '

Ranko yawned again and though she tried to resist it, drifted off to a deep sleep.

 _A few minutes later…_

Taro finished eating and got up so he could stretch his legs a little. He walked to the edge of the tall rock and devoted a few minutes to simply enjoying the feeling of the cold nocturnal breeze. He didn't get many moments like these, busy as he was amassing resources to travel to Japan, where he would locate the miserable old man who gave him his unspeakable name and then force him to change it. Yes, he lived for that day, nothing else mattered. He was sure the moment he changed his name to Awesome Taro things would certainly be better. With that superior name, he would be able to find a wife and to walk through life without shame. And he would find ways to make his monster form even more powerful and use it to gain control of these mountains, because if there was one person who deserved to rule over all the region, then that person was him; not the Musk, not the Amazons or the Herbalists and certainly not the bird people from Mount Phoenix.

Taro's plans of conquest were suddenly interrupted by an aggravating sound behind him. Snoring, it was. Turning, he noticed the idiot redhead was sleeping again, only that this time she was being louder than an old truck with engine troubles.

"Unacceptable," he muttered. Truth was, he was hoping to sleep a little as well, and he wouldn't be able to do that if he was forced to listen to that stupid girl's annoying snoring.

Deciding he'd have to do something about it, he reached for the black cloth he used to wrap his rice crackers and entered the house. He stared at the redhead for an instant and then tied the rag tightly around the woman's jaw, making sure this improvised muzzle kept her mouth shut. This didn't fully stop the snoring, but it did lessen the noise a lot. Satisfied, and also somewhat amazed by how much of a heavy sleeper this girl was, Taro walked out of the cabin and went to lie next to the fire.

For a moment, as he glanced at the stars above him, Taro thought that perhaps he was taking things too far over a simple plant, as there were other ways he could make money but…

He reached to his forehead and winced. The cut still hurt. He then felt something warmth sliding down the side of his face and noticed his fingertips were stained red. Frowning, he got up and wiped the blood clean using a handkerchief, pressing it to his head until the bleeding stopped.

"The hell with the Corly weed," he muttered. "All I want now is to get even with that Ryoga guy."

* * *

 _In the Amazon village…_

Mousse sat on a bench near the town's entrance. The young man was resting after a day of nonstop training; he had been assigned to train exclusively with elder Rinse who, while not as skilled and powerful as Cologne, was one of the three strongest elders ever produced by Joketsuzoku and she had made it clear she would concentrate on eliminating his weak points first. That meant she spent twelve hours straight forcing him to do exercises that would increase his stamina and his strength, as Rinse had declared he already had enough speed and precision.

' _I would rather train with my great-grandmother, I'm sure she could help me master the hidden weapons style fully in less than a week,_ ' Mousse thought, leaning back on his seat and grimacing a little as his arms and shoulders resented the abuse they had experienced for hours that day. ' _They should call her back, I know she would be a great asset…_ '

But the Council would never let Lotion return; Cologne had told him that much earlier when he asked. The thing that bothered Mousse greatly, however, was that nobody had ever told him why the Council banished his great-grandmother. He didn't think she had committed a great crime against Joketsozuko, so maybe the reason behind her punishment was some odd political motive that he was not aware of. Still, at times like this, it was stupid not to let a master of the martial arts as strong as Lotion participate in the village's defenses.

 _'_ _If we survive this mess with the Musk I'll make sure I find my great-grandmother and ask her what happened with the Council,_ _'_ Mousse decided. He was convinced of Lotion's innocence and wanted to do all he could to help her return to the village.

He felt Shampoo approaching. She was coming from behind, and her ki felt weak. Probably because she was as tired as he was; she was training directly with Cologne after all, and he suspected the elder had not been lenient with her.

"I knew you'd be here," Shampoo said as she sat next to him.

"Well, I did tell you I would be," he noted as he adjusted his glasses and turned to look at her. It surprised him to see that while her ki was so weak, she didn't seem tired. "How was your training?"

"Great-Grandmother is strict but fair," the teenager amazon said. "But what she's teaching me is too difficult to learn it in just a week."

"Really? What is it?" He asked, feeling curious about this mysterious technique that clearly weakened the user's ki instead of their body.

"She called it Tamashi no Bakudan Kogeki," she answered. "But using my battle aura the way she wants me to, is not easy..."

"The Soul Bomb Strike, huh? Can't be worse than the strength training I'm getting from elder Rinse," Mousse disputed. "My whole body hurts, I bet learning how to use ki to deliver an explosive attack is easier."

"Of course it isn't!" Shampoo said indignantly. "Gathering your ki around you so that you can make it explode when you hit your enemy is a very complex skill to master!"

"I suppose it is," Mousse agreed, not feeling like arguing with Shampoo. It wasn't the time for petty arguments, anyway, not with the Musk attack less than a month away.

"You're worried, aren't you?" Shampoo asked, finally noting the mood Mousse was in.

"Aren't you?" he said. "I heard today our scouts still haven't found Ranma, and his father has no idea on how to find him, at this rate war with the Musk will be inevitable."

Shampoo couldn't find a proper answer to that. She was indeed troubled by the danger threatening to destroy her home, but she had tried to remain optimistic because she was certain her great-grandmother and the other elders living in the village would be able to defeat the Musk prince. All she and the other Amazons had to do was to keep the rest of the Musk soldiers busy until prince Herb was defeated and, while difficult, it was not impossible.

But still… there was a chance they could lose, she just didn't want to think about it though.

"Yes, I am worried, too," she finally admitted. "But with the elders on our side we have a chance against Herb, all we need to do is to keep the Musk soldiers distracted."

"Easier said than done," he told her. "Did you forget how poorly we did against the two we fought earlier?"

"No. That's why I'm training as hard as I can," she said, managing a smile. "I am an Amazon, and I will always do my best. Next time we fight them I won't just stand there, I'll at least get a solid punch in!"

"I would like to defeat the wolf kid," Mousse said then, finally smiling at her, feeling a bit energized by Shampoo's optimism. "As for the tiger guy… maybe if you and I face him together, we could actually win."

"Yeah, we could…" she replied, returning the smile. She waited to see if he would say something else, but Mousse just went back to staring at the road that leads out of the village in silence, obviously lost in his thoughts again.

' _He's probably thinking about the Musk Dynasty,_ ' Shampoo thought, doing her best not to stare at him too much; instead, she followed his gaze and sighed, she couldn't blame him from being so distressed about the situation, she was, too. After all, if war between the Musk and the Amazons did come, it would mean the end of everything she held dear. Her village would be destroyed and burned to the ground. Many of the women would either die in battle or be taken as wives by Musk soldiers —though Shampoo believed most of the Amazons in the village would not mind that second option since it meant they could have strong children— but, the women would not be the only ones in danger, men like Mousse and her father would be as well, because while the men living in Joketsuzoku tended to be strong, most were not as well trained as the women and that meant a lot of them would die in a direct confrontation. _'_ _Mousse could die in combat too…_ _'_

The idea struck Shampoo harder than what she expected. Images of Mousse being mauled to death by aggressive Musk soldiers entered her mind, and she had to make a conscious effort to stop them. She really couldn't bear it, just the thought of seeing Mousse hurt in battle filled her with such strong anguish she had trouble breathing, but why?

 _'_ _This feeling… it's the same as back when Herb threatened us,_ _'_ she realized. _'_ _When… when did I start worrying so much for him?_ _'_

Shampoo blinked and turned to look at Mousse. He was busy cleaning his glasses, so she was able to look at his full face. Being immediately drawn to his teal eyes, the ones she seldom got to see. He was very pleasant to look at, she realized, even handsome if she had to judge. She slowly reached for his face, but suddenly felt shy and stopped short of touching his cheek. No, she couldn't do this, even if she found him good-looking and cared for him more than what she was willing to admit, giving him false hopes would only hurt him so she couldn't bring herself to do that, not anymore.

"I want to fight you again after this whole business with the Musk is over," he said as he put his glasses back on, surprising Shampoo with his declaration. "I can't let what happened with Ranma happen again. I don't want any other man to defeat you."

"After the war with the Musk Dynasty, why?" she asked, too startled by his words to think of anything else.

"Because I think you wouldn't agree to fight me now," he said. "Not when we have Herb to worry about."

Herb. Hearing that name from Mousse made Shampoo remember the moment the Dragon Prince got angry at them, and how his battle aura made the air around them heavy and hot. She shivered at the memory because if there was one thing Shampoo never wanted to feel again was Herb's monstrous ki.

"Don't be afraid," Mousse said then, placing his hand over hers. "I'll protect you when the Musk come after us, even if it kills me."

"How… how did you know?" Shampoo whispered, her face red by his proximity and his hand touching hers. She noticed then his touch was helping her relax, something she also found slightly scary, but in a way that didn't terrify her. "And please, don't say that."

"What?" he asked. "That I'll protect you?"

"No, that you will do that even if it kills you!" Shampoo corrected with a pained expression on her. She had remembered the moment Herb and his advisor said they would dispose of him, and that brought back the anguish she'd felt both then and only minutes before. "Do you think I would like that? Seeing you die in front of me?"

"For you! I…" Mousse started, but a strong impact on his face stopped him.

Shampoo had slapped him. She now stood in front of him and was staring at him with a mix of fear and anger in her eyes. Mousse, whose glasses were now on the ground, could not see this, but he could feel it, and he was not sure why she was experiencing such a conflicting mix of emotions.

"How dare you tell me that?" She exclaimed. "Are you so convinced we're going to lose?"

"No, it's just that…"

"Or perhaps you're giving up already?" Shampoo interrupted him. "Do I mean so little to you that you would rather die in battle? ...Or is it that you're too much of a coward to challenge me right here, right now?"

Mousse picked up his glasses, put them on and then stood up. Shampoo's slap and questions had helped him move past the state of depression the whole situation with the Musk had sent him into and he could now clearly understand what they both needed to do.

"I meant it when I said I'm certain you wouldn't agree to fight me for a chance to win your hand in marriage right now because Herb is coming," he repeated slowly, hiding his hands under his sleeves as he spoke. "Our only priority right now should be getting stronger to help protect Joketsuzoku, not my feelings for you."

Stating this, Mousse turned left and started walking to the town's gates, as he believed there was nothing else to be said that night. He would protect Shampoo whether she wanted it or not, and if they were lucky enough to survive, then he'd challenge her again in an official duel.

Shampoo bit her lips, watching his back as he walked towards the road out of the village. She was feeling upset by him dismissing her, but more than that, she felt fear. He was her best friend, perhaps even more than that, and losing him terrified her. It terrified her so deeply she understood she didn't want him to go; she wanted him to stay with her so they could both help each other survive the battle with the Musk… she knew they could do that, she just knew it!

"Mousse, wait!" She called, not moving from where she stood for she at least wanted to preserve that much of her dignity.

"Yes?" he said, not turning to look at her. Not because he didn't want to, but because he could feel despair and fear in her ki, and he believed that pushing his feelings on her when the complete annihilation of their whole world was so near would only make things worse between them.

"Fight me," she challenged him, deciding this was the only way she could keep him close. "Fight me, Mousse… fight me and if you win I promise I'll marry you. But I want to fight the man, not the master of the Hidden Weapons Style, drop all your weapons and show me if your love for me is really that strong!"

He lowered his head, not moving as he contemplated her words. Why was she doing this? It made no sense to him but… she was so afraid. Probably as afraid as he felt. If that was the case, then she was not in her right mind and fighting her would be dishonorable.

"You're only doing this because you're scared," he declared, finally looking back to face her. "Not because you want to give me a chance to be with you."

Shampoo tried to respond, but the words just wouldn't come out. He was right, after all, she was doing this out of fear of losing her family, her friends and her home… _him_. She had already accepted that much, but even then… why wouldn't he take her challenge? Wasn't this what he always wanted? She could not understand!

"I'm afraid too," he told her. "That is why I won't fight you, letting fear be the only reason why we do this… it doesn't feel right."

"Mousse… listen, I…" Shampoo took in a deep breath and made a pause to gather her thoughts. She knew what she wanted, but needed a moment to make sure she could properly express it.

"Don't force yourself, we can wait until it's all over..."

"I'm not… I…" she had to make another pause, this was becoming more and more difficult with every second, and she understood that if she didn't say it quickly, she would never again be able to gather the courage to do so again. "I am terrified, but… I would rather… I would rather face what's coming knowing that your love for me is real."

"Shampoo…"

"Wait… let' me… there's more I need to say…" she interrupted, lowering her face and closing her eyes, feeling too embarrassed to face him. "If we must go to war… if we must die in battle… I would rather do it next to a person who loves me… next, to a man, I also care about… and I think that man is… you."

"Shampoo," he called again after a moment of silence. "Please, open your eyes, I'm here."

She hesitated for a moment before she did as he asked. The young Amazon had to blink in surprise. There, right in front of her was Mousse, but he had removed his robe, and several weapons were at his feet. He held his glasses in his hands and was wrapping them in a handkerchief.

"If this is so important for you then I accept your challenge," he said as he put his cloth-wrapped glasses in his pocket. "I only hope that you truly understand how important this is for me… Shampoo, I do expect you to keep your promise."

"I understand, Mousse," she answered as she untied her odango, releasing her full hair to the night wind; she then unbuttoned her blouse, letting it drop behind her and revealing her white undershirt. They were now even, she decided, and they could fight with only their skills and bodies alone. "And I will keep my promise."

They moved away from the village's gates, deciding to fight on an ample garden not too far from there. The place was deserted as most amazons were either still training at the other end of town or preparing dinner for their families, so the two teenagers were confident their duel would be private. Only that was not the case, another person, someone very old and powerful, observed it all from atop a nearby house.

 _'_ _I should stop those two,_ _'_ Cologne thought, but quickly decided against it. It had been Shampoo who threw the challenge, so she had no right to interfere and besides, she wanted to see how skilled Mousse and Shampoo were, as it would help her determine the best way to continue their training. And if Mousse won… well, Cologne was not as averse to it now as she had been in the past. The boy was definitively not weak, and Shampoo had been showing interest in him after returning from their mission together. The elder sighed and shrugged, in the end, it was not a disaster, and her great-granddaughter could really do much worse than Mousse. _'_ _I only hope those children don't hurt each other too much, it would hinder their training._ _'_

They stood a few steps away from each other. Shampoo standing in an offensive stance while Mousse, who was still tired from his previous training, opted for a defensive one. The Amazon felt confident about her chances since even if Mousse was physically superior, he should be exhausted and, without his weapons and his glasses, he would not be able to fight at full strength. But she could.

 _'_ _Let's see if you really care for me enough to go all out, Mousse, because in your condition that's the only way you'll be able to defeat me!_ _'_ she thought and dashed forward, attacking with blazing speed.

But her first punch did not connect; Mousse simply parried it, and the same happened with the next five attacks Shampoo tried, he blocked them all effortlessly. Amazed by this development, the young Amazon tried a different stance and instead of punching, she decided to use open palm strikes, aiming for her opponent's chest. This second wave of attacks was also blocked or parried, however.

"How?" She asked him, backing up a step to reevaluate her strategy. "You're not wearing your glasses!"

"I can feel your battle aura," he answered. "I practiced my ki detection skills when we were traveling together and I improved enough to tell where you're moving even if I can't see you..."

"That means you can tell what I'm going to do?"

"More or less, I had trouble identifying what your last few strikes were."

Shampoo smirked; even though her confidence was a bit shaken, learning Mousse could track her ki, she recovered when she heard him admit he couldn't always know what attack she was going to use. That meant if she struck him fast enough…

"Let's go at it again, Mousse!" She exclaimed, rushing at him intending on kicking him hard on the chin, feeling rather certain this plan would work perfectly.

But it didn't, Mousse decided to finally counterattack and intercepted Shampoo, delivering his own kick on her midsection, dropping her on her back a few meters away from where he stood. The young Amazon got up slowly, smiling as she pressed her right hand over her stomach.

 _'_ _So… he's finally taking our duel seriously,_ _'_ she thought, still smiling as she straightened and took in a deep breath. _'_ _I was waiting for this… let's see if he's brave enough to fight me until the end._ _'_

"You're fighting for real," Shampoo said, walking back to where Mousse waited. "It's about time."

"Of course I am," he answered. "The prize is finally worth it."

"Oh? Well, then your feelings for me must be really strong if you're willing to go this far for this prize," she said and smiled at him. "Good, I would not agree to marry a man who can't fight me with his full strength..."

Mousse returned the smile while he prepared an offensive stance. "Let's finish this, shall we?"

"Yes, let's," Shampoo agreed.

This time it was Mousse who attacked first, finding that Shampoo was not defending; she was dodging most of his blows, but also attacking him full force. The two traded punches and kicks for almost a minute, and while it was obvious Shampoo's attacks landed more often, she was the one receiving more damage.

 _'_ _I can't let him get any more hits in!_ _'_ Shampoo decided after receiving a strong punch in her right shoulder. _'_ _Two or three more and I'll fall on my knees…_ _'_

Taking advantage of a momentary pause, she quickly cartwheeled to the left, impacting her feet on Mousse's forearm, as he managed to block the attack at the very last instant. It didn't matter however since Shampoo counted on it not connecting, all she wanted with the maneuver was to recover some space.

"That was clever," Mousse said. "I was not expecting it, you surprise me, Shampoo."

"I am full of surprises," she answered proudly. "And the next one will decide this fight, you'll see!"

Mousse was momentarily out of words and too amazed to move when he felt what Shampoo was doing. She had ignited her battle aura in a way that for him it was like feeling a small star chaotically shining brightly in front of him. He couldn't see her well, and the glowing around her forced him to close his eyes. Mousse quickly understood that this must be her incomplete version of the Tamashi no Bakudan Kogeki.

 _'_ _If she's going to use this now then it means she believes she's out of options,_ _'_ he realized, noticing that she was now focusing all her ki in her right fist. _'_ _If she hits me with that… will it cause a blast? No, she said she hasn't mastered the technique yet, but I can't chance it…_ _'_

Without warning, Shampoo yelled and ran towards him, forcing him to do the same in order to intercept the ki infused attack she was aiming to use on him.

There was no explosion, only a loud flash that illuminated the area for just an instant. When the bright light dissipated, Mousse and Shampoo stood still on opposite ends of the garden. They seemed to be frozen in time but, after a second, the young man staggered and brought a hand to his chest, just below the neck. The red mark on his sternum proved that Shampoo had managed to hit him well, and he suspected that, had she been rested and used the perfect version of her Soul Bomb Strike, he would be unconscious. Behind him, Shampoo placed both hands over her left side and felt her knees go weak. Mousse had hit her expertly in a way that had made her whole body spasm strongly; she struggled for an instant, tried to stop trembling and, finding she had no strength left, fell on her back, unable to get back on her feet.

Realizing Shampoo had collapsed, Mousse put his glasses on and walked to where she was. He found her still holding her side and breathing slowly. Glad to see she wasn't out cold, he sat next to her and waited in silence, in case she wanted to tell him something.

"Your last punch really got me," she admitted when she felt rested enough. "It shook my body to the core… I lost all my strength… where did you learn it? It's not an Amazonian technique..."

"My father taught me how to do it, and it is supposed to do that," he replied in a low voice. "I didn't think I would need it, but you tried to hit me with the Tamashi no Bakudan Kogeki, I had no other choice."

"Using it didn't help at all," she sighed, still resting on the grass. "You defeated me very quickly… I didn't think you would be able to win."

"If you had used a perfect version of the technique I would have lost."

"No, you would have found a way to counter it," she acknowledged, her eyes closed. "You are a better martial artist than I am, Mousse, stronger, too."

Shampoo didn't say more, and just focused on staring at the stars above her, still finding it difficult to grasp how skilled Mousse actually was. She always considered him below her in technique and ability. This fight had proven how mistaken she had been.

"…I concede," Shampoo said then, her voice soft and an even a little shy. "You won fairly, Mousse. I… I'll marry you."

The young man did not answer. Hearing those words from Shampoo's mouth had left him speechless, as they confirmed that he had finally made his dearest dream a reality. But that didn't mean he could rest. No, now that Shampoo was his bride, he would have to train harder to become strong enough to protect their future together. He felt a sharp pain in his right arm then, and looking down he found that Shampoo was pinching him as hard as she could.

"Why are you doing that?" He asked lifting his arm beyond her reach.

"Because this is when you're supposed to kiss me, and all you're doing is spacing out like an idiot," she complained.

Mousse blinked and, finding her words incredibly funny, started laughing. Shampoo found his laughter contagious and quickly joined him; the two laughed for a few seconds until they managed to stop. He sighed and then looked at her. She was so pretty and feminine… her beauty almost intoxicating. Mousse smiled again and felt content with just contemplating her.

"Come, lie down next to me," she told him, lifting her arms in an inviting gesture.

He nodded and slowly, battling his doubts and telling himself this was fine, did as she wanted. Once he was next to her, she moved so she could lean on him. They rested like this for a long while, enjoying their shared warmth and company until Mousse, calm and more confident now, moved so he was above her.

"I'm going to kiss you now," he told her, cupping her face in his hand.

"I think I would like that," Shampoo answered as she reached and gently placed her hand on his cheek, she gazed into his stunning eyes. She reached up and caressed his chest with her other hand. "I would definitively like that..."

With her permission finally granted, Mousse leaned down and gently, as if fearing this was all a dream, finally joined his lips with hers…

* * *

Moonlight illuminated the training field Dan Lo had taken Ryoga to, the wooden cabin they had been in earlier just behind them. A gentle night breeze combed through what remained of the grassy fields near the training field, which was mostly a barren wasteland with holes and some bridge equipment.

With his hands behind his back, Dan Lo watched as Ryoga took in a deep breath, easing his tension as his muscles relaxed. Starting from his feet the Lost Boy's energy began to pool at his feet, a green haze slowly enveloped his form, spreading as if he were some comet entering earth's orbit.

"This aura is something else..." the old man grumbled to himself.

The force of Ryoga's aura was strong enough to force the wind around him to spread out so fast it pushed back his bushy eyebrows, revealing two shocked brown eyes.

"Hooo...!" Ryoga cried with his eyes closed as the haze around him intensified to look like a flame brightly burning around him.

"Calm down! Don't go wasting all your ki reserves!" Dan Lo ordered while forcing his hardhat to stay on his head.

"Sorry I wanted to see how intense I could make it..." the teen answered as the gusts he was creating died down.

"You don't even seem too tired, to be honest..." Dan Lo muttered, starting to recognize this was no ordinary human that stood before him, despite looking so much like one.

"Maybe I'm just too motivated..." Ryoga replied as his mind wandered back to his traveling companion.

"Either way you've already mastered the Bakusai Tenketsu, something most young people can't do..." Dan Lo asked, stroking his chin. Was the boy just a flat out prodigy or something?

"Someone who's helping me with my friend Ranko taught me it by hurdling boulders at me until I could see the breaking point..." Ryoga admitted by avoided names in case it came back to bite them.

"Whoever taught you did it in an unusual way..." Dan hummed but appeared to think it over. "As cruel as it seems, if someone could withstand that level of training then it could be an excellent way to boost one's tolerance for pain..."

"Before we started you mentioned something about the Bakusai Tenketsu being related to the Shishi Hokodan?" Ryoga brought up as faint white steam wafted off his shoulders and top of his head.

"They're both construction techniques, Bakusai Tenketsu to make small rocks into smaller more manageable chunks while the Shishi Hokodan was meant to clear the area for construction..." Dan Lo started explaining as he looked out into the distance.

"What about this Perfect Shishi Hokodan you also mentioned?" Ryoga asked as he looked over to him.

"It's in the title..." he chuckled a little as he then turned to look at his coincidental star student. "It was perfect for setting the foundation..."

"I wish you'd show me how to do that one..."

"Crawl before you can walk Ryoga, I'm not like the one who taught you to the Bakusai Tenketsu," Dan Lo chuckled, admitting he was the traditional kind.

"Fine then..." He scratched the side of his head and then sighed. "How about showing me the imperfect Shishi Hokodan again?"

"Once more I suppose," Dan Lo nodded before spreading his legs and taking his stance, igniting his yellowish aura around him as it glowed brightly and constantly. "Shishi—" he began as he swiftly crossed his arms over his chest as he pulls them apart and brings his hands together near his chest. "Hoko—" he muttered as a ball of energy gathered and grew in his hands.

"Daaaannnn...!" he extended his hands out and fired a yellow beam, leaving a melon-sized hole in the ground.

Ryoga observed as best as he could, memorizing every movement as he noticed his sensei sighed in disappointment.

"I was hoping I could put on a better show..." Dan Lo admitted as he rotated his shoulder blade. "Guess I'm not feeling depressed enough..."

"You said that depression is the only emotion that can power this technique, right?" Ryoga questioned as he readied his stance by spreading his legs and putting his arms to his sides.

"That's right..." he replied, nodding his head. "Nothing is more disappointing than not getting paid after a long day's work..."

With that idea in mind, Ryoga once again shut his eyes and focused his ki, making it heavy as he returned to that panicked state he felt when he was thinking about all the cruel things Taro could do to his dear friend if he lost. The idea of her being so upset at him that she never wanted to see him again...

Dan Lo noticed Ryoga's tense and wild energy start to run amuck again, "Ryoga..." he muttered as he watched his student's energy waver and overflow before it calmed to a strong, larger than the average... but stable aura.

Ryoga's mind created a world of pitch darkness that spanned what seemed like an eternity.

 _"But if you don't come, I don't know what I'll do to her..."_

 _"I don't know what I'll do to her..."_

 _...ehehehe..._

 _...ehehehe!_

 _Taro's voice became distant and deeper the further he sounded, fading into deep and eerie laughter. It was then that the sound of a door being slammed at a familiar school echoed, the school Ryoga went to when Ranma would lead him to school._

 _Snort!_

 _A ghostly specter with horns loomed down one of the hallways opposite to Ryoga, around it was a smog of festering darkness that consumed the ground it touched. The Ryoga in his mind could only stand in awe as it appeared to be throwing something his way._

 _Thud!_

 _Beneath his feet was the object of his affection, her eyes shut, still and lifeless as though she were some rag doll..._

 _"Ryoga… I… I care about you too... You've helped since the beginning, always doing so much for me… thanks for everything. I don't know what would have happened if I had never met you..._

 _Ryo-Ryoga..._

 _You…"_

"I'm sorry..." he muttered as the overflowing nature of his energy caused his hair to sway as Ryoga was standing in front of some powerful fan.

His eyes shot open as tears streamed from his eyes, his tears were subject to the same forces around them and flew away up and over his head. His firey green aura glowed even brighter.

"He…" Dan Lo said but paused as the fact that Ryoga's aura alone could cause the winds to part so quickly.

"Shishi—" he began then right after he crossed his arms over his chest. "Hoko—" he continued as he extended his hands out, his tone dropping by a few octaves. Out from his hands came an orb of green energy, teeming with the same vibrant glow that surrounded its caster, rapidly beginning to expand as if it were a balloon capable of reaching absurd human heights.

Dan Lo swore he could feel Ryoga's strength seeping into his own being, encouraging him to stand.

 _"Do it now! Ryoga!"_

Ryoga grit his teeth and angled the attack as high as he could before letting go.

 _"Daaannnnn...!"_

Forced to keep his hardhat down and close his eyes, the construction man fought against the violent gust pushing against him, "My word..." he muttered as he watched the blast crash into a small house-sized hill across the river.

Two shockwaves spread through the ground. The first caused by the force of Ryoga's attack and the one that followed right after was because the grassy mound he had struck came crumbling down shortly after.

"That was amazing! I can't believe you have such astonishing Ki reserves! You're…" Sensei Dan stopped to see that Ryoga had fallen on his back. "Must have used it all in one go..." he mused as he moved over to pick him up, hoisting him up by his side.

"Wish I was as strong as you, growing up..." Dan muttered with a smile, dragging the unconscious Ryoga back inside their cabin for some much-deserved rest.

* * *

Peering over the horizon like a whimsical sprite, the sun spread out its golden rays of warmth over the Byankara province. It was all so serene and majestic to behold, the diversity in wildlife.

"You pantyhose sniffing creep!" Ranko cried as she was bound to a wooden pole left to the cabin by Taro's weapon of choice.

Standing nearby with one foot over a rock and next to the pond, the brown-haired miscreant was doing his best to drown out the redhead's voice, ' _He should be here any minute and the second I'm done with him, you're next..._ _'_ he thought, smirking right after.

"You might as well start usin' eyeliner while you're at it too!" the redhead's persistent pestering continued.

"Do you ever shut up!?" Pantyhose Taro demanded as he marched over to her and grabbed Ranko by her throat.

"Wanna' make me?" Ranko replied, calling his bluff.

She was just trying to get to him and it was working, this was something he couldn't let her have, "No..." he scoffed before smiling. "Not yet..."

"Sounds like you're scared ta' fight me..." she suggested with a cocky grin.

"Keep trying to get on my nerves and we'll see what happens..." he threatened calmly before making his way to the edge of Fist Rock as far as he possibly could from his smart-mouthed tormentor.

…

 _A few minutes later…_

A teenage boy and an old man reached the base of the impressive rock formation: Fist Rock. They both looked up before looking back to one another and bowing in respect.

"Thank you for everything," Ryoga said as he showed his appreciation.

"You're welcome, I wish you luck on your journey," Dan Lo smiled and bowed his head.

"You're not going to climb the rock with me?"

"I'm not going to interfere in a fight between men," Dan Lo scoffed at the notion and shook his head.

"Alright then..." Ryoga nodded as he dropped his traveling gear off to the side and started climbing the old structure.

"I'll wait nearby if you need me..." Dan Lo spoke clearly enough for Ryoga to hear as he walked with his hands behind his back.

For someone like Ryoga, the feat of climbing the side of a small mountain was nothing to the fight that awaited him. Not just that but he desperately wanted to see Ranko again, _'_ _He said to meet him at dawn! It's still technically dawn!_ _'_ Ryoga thought as he looked up to see what looked like the top.

This brought some hope to Ryoga's eyes as he in his excitement rushed and pushed his muscles to help him close the gap, pulling himself up to the top.

"Ah!" Ryoga groaned as he reached to the side of his head with his left hand, feeling some warm liquid gush out a little.

"Now we're even..." Taro said, standing over him with a sharpened stick.

Glaring, the Lost Boy had been on his hands before coming to a stand, seeing as Taro stepped out of the way. Behind him was the redheaded amnesic of his dreams, bound to a pole with her head tilted down.

"R-Ran..." Ryoga began as his voice squeaked a little.

"Ryoga? Is that you...?" she asked, head jolted up as seemed genuinely shocked to see him.

In such a good mood to see her, Ryoga remained silent, but after looking at the blood on his face, Ranko had plenty to say.

"How could you be stupid enough to let him cut you like that?" Ranko rolled her eyes and fought against her restraints. "Untie me so I can kick this guy's ass and we can get back to our mission!"

Ryoga instead of being upset or enraged actually found himself breathing a sigh of relief when he heard her beautiful insults, _'_ If she can scream like that then he _hasn't hurt her..._ _'_ he thought right before tossing the bag he had tied to his hip.

"Oh...?" Pantyhose Taro noticed all eyes were back on him.

"That's the Corly weed, and now I'm gonna' make you regret the day you meet us," Ryoga said narrowing his eyes as a grin spread across his face.

 _"And I'm going to enjoy sending you to hell..." Taro replied with a confident smirk._

* * *

 **Dr. Facer** : Thank you for reading! I'm really happy with the way this chapter turned out, and I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as we did writing it. By the way, I'm sure some of you recognized Shampoo's new special technique, the Tamashi no Bakudan Kogeki. It's actually the attack she uses in the first movie to defeat Monlon; we decided to borrow it and give it a name since it didn't have one as far as we know.

 **DaisukiFox** : Man this was hard on a whole new level! So many days just spent thinking about how to handle some scenes but I'd do it again if I could... X3 We hope you're all eager for more after this! Cause I know we are! Especially with the twins... it's been since chapter 4 that I've had my hands on them. They were my favorite part just because of how fun they are. ^^

 _Prescribing fluff from the Doctor~_

 _Dr. Fluff~_


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